


I Hear Static

by Giulietta



Series: AU Nonsense [14]
Category: Rockman.EXE | Mega Man Battle Network
Genre: Alternate Universe - Twins, Blackouts, Brotherhood, Computer Programming, Computer Viruses, Crash & Burn, Despair, Dysfunctional Family, Family Issues, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Gen, Hurt No Comfort, Implied/Referenced Terrorism, Mental Health Issues, Not Happy, POV Multiple, Realistic, Reality, Team Dynamics, Worry
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-20
Updated: 2019-03-25
Packaged: 2019-11-26 03:50:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 22,680
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18175469
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Giulietta/pseuds/Giulietta
Summary: The Navi Project is deemed to be overrated, sendingHikari SaitoRockman in the storage room until further notice. A human soul transfigured to remain in cyberspace, Rockman searches for trust and meaning... He learns something else.The lab isn't the ideal place for a child to be.And then, he is reunited with his younger brother and realize-[I love how this entire series is in itself a huge censor bar to most of its battles and so much mysteries to fill in. Let's try making this storyline realistic.]





	1. Zeroes and Ones

**Author's Note:**

> Why haven't I done this? Well...
> 
> MMBN is my favorite game series. It's so hard to taint my memories of it.
> 
> Slow build.... I will let you know when it gets fun...
> 
> Probably when Blues comes. He's awesome. Fav character. XD

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Saito wakes up and learns to be Rockman.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Situation:
> 
> You know you died, but you somehow got reincarnated (or incarnated? o-o) into something. You also realize rebirth felt like being torn and stitched back together repetitively (which lasted for a week but it felt like years to you). Restrained and surrounded with green entities pointing weapons at you, you scream and cry... Yet no one bothers to help you. Struggling does nothing. You go limp and is finally released from your binds after the fifth day.
> 
> You are forced to stand up, being interrogated by humans in white coats on the screen. You see your father, overjoyed with your resurrection. All you feel is pain and confusion. Maybe even betrayal, aware there are weapons pointed behind his back. The programs are wary of you. If you tell your father, he would lose everything. No. This is all **his fault.**
> 
>  
> 
> **You know you don't belong here. You know your father tried to play as god.**
> 
>  
> 
> The pain lingers, emotions simmer and boil. When the guys in white coats ask you if you remember who and what you are, you realize that you are a part of a project involving two races. You realize the consequence of your answers and the possible outcomes it will give.
> 
> Lie or confess?

My name is ~~Hikari Saito~~ Rockman.EXE. I ~~was once a Human~~ am a customized NetNavi. **I hear static.**

   

> "Do you really remember nothing?" Yuuichirou repeats for the twenty-third time. "Not even a sense of familiarity?"
> 
> "..." The blue navi stares at the desperate man before shaking his head slowly.
> 
> "I'm so sorry..." One of the scientists places a hand towards Yuichiro's shoulder, unaware of the turmoil in the program's mind.

 

 ~~I do not like my father for doing this to me.~~  In front of my father and several other scientists, I decide to conceal my knowledge.  **I do not like these strangers in whites, probing and tearing me apart whenever they please while I am still conscious or even when I don't want them to.**

    

> "Is he really a customized navi, Doctor?" An official questioned as the blue NetNavi obeyed orders. "He functions just like any other Navi, maybe even weaker."
> 
> "I didn't build him to be strong." Yuuichirou rebutted as he noticed his son look up, staring at the screen with blank eyes. "Rockman is created to adapt and survive any situation."
> 
> "I see." The Official stares at the NetNavi. "..."
> 
> "Is there a problem?" Rockman inquired. The Official returns the PET to Yuuichirou, sighing. "I guess your project was a dud huh?"

 

 ~~Kept under surveillance, I yearn to check on my brother.~~ I decide to revisit the videos and audio records of my future operator to uncover...  **I do not understand.**

    

> "Doctor..." Rockman began, watching Yuuichirou readjust the parts of a prototype. "When will you take a break? Your family must be really worried about you."
> 
> "I'm sorry, Rockman. I can't take a vacation now." Yuuichirou apologized and he swore he saw the navi sigh in disappointment.
> 
> "I see..." Rockman walked away from the screen.
> 
> "W-well! I'm sure they're doing all right." Yuuichirou promised and sent a video to the navi. "See? You can watch the video if you want. Netto sent it to me."
> 
> "?!" Rockman watched Haruka celebrate Netto's birthday. The scientist hopes this will bring back some memories.

 

Hikari Netto is hurting.  ~~Why is mama not helping him?~~  I do not know why no one is helping him. **I cannot comprehend why they are hurting him.**

 

> "Assessing risk level...." The program announced as the blue netnavi emerged from battle. "Green." 
> 
> "Doctor? Who is this Forte and why is he labelled red?" Rockman inquired, reading previous records of the simulations. Yuuichirou scratched the back of his head, "Forte is made by your grandfather's colleague, Dr. Cossack. Because of Forte, all NetNavis are programmed to depend most of their actions towards their operators."
> 
> "An Autonavi..." Rockman returned the files. "What am I then?"
> 
> "You are a younger project which everyone deems to be a failure." Yet Yuuichirou quickly reassures. "But that's because they expect so much from you. I don't understand them honestly, wanting an ideal but obedient NetNavi."
> 
> "Understood." Rockman smiled, but the intent wasn't there. "Thank you for believing in me, doctor."
> 
> "I always believe in you... Rockman." Yuuichirou leaned back on his chair, but Rockman remained passive.

 

 ~~Why is this happening to my brother?~~  The world is covered in static. C̴̜̠̿a̶̤̅̑ń̶̰ ̶͈̄s̶̗̼̓ò̷͕m̸̝̘̒e̴̞ö̶̡́n̸̰̎e̶̝͝ ̵͍̻̑͗t̷̰̿̎e̶̠̺̕l̶͖͝l̴͓͂͝ ̸̫̫̐m̸̛͉e̸̖͆ͅ?̸̡̰̄̑  **I want to find meaning in this very existence!**

 

> "Rockman. You shouldn't let the other navis order you around." Yuuichirou chided as Rockman carried the boxes.
> 
> "No no. It's fine!" Rockman chirped. "I want to do this! I want to be helpful to everyone."
> 
> "You don't have to do everything. It's their job." Yuuichirou stood up, glaring at his whistling colleagues. He sat back down, explaining to his son. "Look. Rockman. The Navis you encounter there is usually personifying their operator's trait and action, most of the time."
> 
> "I know. Sometimes, they contrast or compliment each other." Rockman added. "But I want to help because I'm bored."
> 
> "You're bored?" Yuuichirou whispered, never expecting that sort of answer. No. He should since Rockman is technically a human child converted into a program. 'It's so rare for Rockman to express himself. I need to take note of this.'
> 
> "Yes. I recently realized that after my creation, I was never assigned to do anything." Rockman began walking to the designated area. "I also can't go out from Scilab without authorization."
> 
> "Well..." Yuuichirou sighed. He can't argue with that. Scilab is connected to forbidden areas. 'I can't bear to see my son die again.'

 

Slowly dropping my hands from my earpiece, I realize the solution to my problem.  ~~I will let the world engulf me in its noise.~~   **I will be Rockman.EXE and pull my brother back on his feet again.**

* * *

"Good morning, Netto-kun." The blue Netnavi greets the startled bruised adolescent. "My name is Rockman.EXE."

"R-rockman..." The brunet stared at the customized Navi. 'Something about him feels familiar.'

"Do you remember me?" Rockman repeats the first question he heard when his father brought him back from Death.

"..." Netto stares for a moment, walking towards his desk and examining his Navi. "I don't remember."

"But you feel familiar, very comforting for some reason." Netto concluded and the Netnavi smiled.

"That's good." Rockman doesn't mind if his brother forgot about him. 'Netto did envy him back then for being the better half.'

"?!" Netto hears his mother scream downstairs. He looks at his PET, removing it from its charger. "Let's go, Rockman."

 

 ~~I will erase the past.~~  I will do anything necessary to lessen the pain in the present. **My brother's future will be bright.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [I lie.]


	2. Black and White

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Netto trudges forward with a strained smile...
> 
> And then, he received Rockman.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since this is a story and not a game, Netto shouldn't don the hero mantle. Let's have the proper authorities come into the picture.
> 
> Also, Netto and Rockman have a brother!link because I really like strong abilities to have a bad consequence.

 

>   **Ever since my brother died, I've been hearing static.**   ~~I find myself screaming at nights, holding my chest as if something wanted to come out of me.~~  I told my mom but the psychologist couldn't figure anything out of it.

 

"Your teachers are mean." Rockman stated, reading the news regarding the oven fires.

"Hn." Netto doesn't focus on the lessons, scanning the forums regarding Program Advances.

"You let the seniors bully you." Rockman pinpointed the general location, mostly Densan City.

"They'll get tired eventually." Netto supplied, checking his allowance if he could purchase all three Gun Del Sol chips.

"What if.. your your friend reports this to your mother?" Rockman began checking all registered Navis listed in Scilab.

"She'll transfer us to a different neighborhood. I wouldn't have anymore friends. It would suck." Netto murmured, looking back at the board. "Hey Rock. You don't mind entering the Undernet, do you?"

"Never been there, but I want to go there." Rockman then checked the lay-out of the Undernet.

*Ding! Ding!

"Ah." Rockman opened the message. "Meiru-chan says she has to go home early for Piano lessons and then there is Dekao who wants to battle you for... Meiru-chan?"

   

> **I don't know why, but I think the world hates me.**   ~~That can't be right since everyone suffers and what sort of deity would want to torture one person more than the rest?~~ My parents are always busy, telling me to endure and survive gradeschool.

 

 _"_ In the end..." Netto sighed, getting dragged by his classmate into a room. "Dekao! When will you learn Meiru-chan doesn't like you?!"

"It's your fault Meiru-chan doesn't accept my date invites!" The green-shirt wearing student accused the saddened brunette. Rockman scans the area, commenting. "Not even a surveillance camera. What sort of school is this?"

"Should we really do this, Netto-kun? We might get expelled for this." Rockman warned. Netto shrugged, pulling out the cord. "The school doesn't follow it's own rules. Let's get this over with."

" **Shall I execute him?** " The way Rockman asked sounded a bit wary, almost as if his father berated the Navi for battling other Navis.

"You can, but right now? No. He isn't a priority. We still need to buy the chips remember?" Netto plugged Rockman in. As soon as Rockman entered the field, the blue netnavi had to look up a bit to see a gorilla NetNavi.

"Gutsman will defeat you!" It-He roared and Rockman stared at his hand before staring back at the huge fist.

"?" Netto watched Rockman dash forward and grab hold of the Navi's wrist, twisting and turning the wrist to bring the Navi down to the ground.

"Hn." Watching the stunned Navi, Rockman pointed his Rock buster at the crest. "I win."

" **HELP!** " [Rockman instinctively lets go, taking a step back to see a pink NetNavi emerge from the center of the field.]

"Meiru-chan!" Roll pleaded, staring right at Rockman. "Meiru-chan is in trouble!" 

    

> **I decide that it would be best to forget about my brother to ease the pain.** ~~The pain didn't stop.~~ ** ~~I don't know when it will stop!~~**  Even though I don't like my school, I don't want to leave because I made a friend there.

 

" **Sorry if I kept you waiting, Rockman!** " Netto said as he shook his slightly burnt hand. Rushing to Meiru's house and escorting her out, Netto was glad that Dekao was nice enough to come along as a support. Rockman warned as his hand shifted into a wide sword based on the chip he installed, "Don't force yourself, Netto-kun. This will all be over in a second."

" **Cocky** **.** " Netto joked, covering his mouth as he watched the battle. He didn't expect Rockman to dash headfirst and slice the Navi's entire right arm off. Not only that, but Rockman turned and stabbed Fireman at the back. The thrust was straight to the crest with Rockman swiftly pulling out.

"G-gah..." Fireman coughed something out as he slowly turns into pixels.

" **H-How can a kid and a puny Navi delete Fireman?!** "

"You underestimated your opponent?" Netto supplied, shrugging since he and Rockman agreed that he will delay while Rockman searches for the suspect's whereabouts. "You rarely fight anyone strong? I dunno. Tons of reasons."

" **I-Hmph! Fair point.** " [Roll clung to Rockman's arm, but Rockman was too busy searching for the IP address.]

"So you're Mr. Match. Why are you doing this and are you really a WWW member? Why are you hacking into ovens? Why specifically ovens?" Netto hooked up with the police, sending the general tidbits he and his Navi gathered.

" **I like your passion, kid. Since I got the program in your house, might as well tell you.** " Mr. Match sounds eager for a rematch it seems. Too bad he will be in jail soon ~~unless he has a vehicle or he runs astoundingly fast~~. " **WWW plans on starting a war after a month or so. If you keep up fighting us then we'll see each other again. Maybe.** "

"Can you just e-mail me a place then we fight there, preferably not a weekend or class time?" Netto looked out of the window to see an ambulance and a firetruck. Firemen are somewhat awesome, finally learning not to splash everything with water. They are also resourceful and fit. 'The Police should be heading there soon.'

" **Ha!**   **I wish, but I have work. War preparations and all.** " Mr. Match checked the time. " **Script me. The cops!** **Laters, kid.** "

"You don't plan on meeting him, right?" Roll asked Rockman who looked away. Netto sighed, plugging his navi out. "War? Why would a fire program in my oven start a war?"

   

> **When I got my customized Netnavi Rockman, something inside me ached.**   ~~The way his eyes brightened and his lips curling into a smile, the navi reminded me of someone that already died.~~  Rockman promised he will protect me to the best of his abilities.

 

"You're bankrupt now, Netto-kun." Rockman obtained the three chips from a Heel Navi.

"Worth it." Netto laughed, happy to get the special chips. He didn't mind the extra pay if he could get all three of those chips. Boktai will always be his favorite series.

"But you have a point. I only get my allowance once a week..." Netto tapped his keyboard, charging his PET as he scavenged the Net in his own way... (through search browsers). "How about we do errands?"

"How about we join competitions?" Rockman said at the same time, listening in with the purple NetNavis.

"No. You're too weak." Pushing Rockman forward, the escort frowned at the smaller one's suggestion.

"He's right there, Rockman. The Undernet is a whole new difficulty level. Let's just do one chore and get money to spend for tomorrow?" Netto suggested and Rockman sighed. "Okay... But you also have to do homework."

"Can't you help me?" Netto pouted and Rockman laughed before rejecting. "Hahahaha...No. It's your homework. You need to learn and go to a good college. If you get a scholarship, you can move to a dorm and no longer have to worry about curfew!"

"You have a point..." Netto opens his bag, "Hey Rockman? Who taught you how to fight?"

"Videos... Lots of videos about Netbattling and analyzing enemy weaknesses?" Rockman's voice softened, almost melancholic. "Did you know there are a lot of operators who gives a limited set of chips and have their navis farm zenny all day?"

"I won't enslave you, Rockman. You're like a brother to me. Weird since it's just the first day I got you." Netto reassured, already scribbling on his math homework. "I'm still kinda shock that you're stronger than Gutsman, being puny and all."

"Hey! I'm just as tall as you!" Rockman retaliated and Netto laughed again.  

   

> **Even with the bruises and cuts on my body,**   **I found myself smiling in bed.**   ~~There was something about Rockman that calmed my thoughts.~~  In fact, for the past five days, I could barely hear the static as I fall asleep. [I actually found myself wanting to wake up tomorrow.]

 

"..." Rockman watched his operator sleep, checking his bank account and then back at the injuries of his owner.

'What do you do when your operator is bullied?' [Make sure they never bully Netto ever again.]

'What do you do when your operator doesn't want his parents to worry?' [Eradicate the source of the problem.]

 

**The NetNavi formulates a plan...**

 

"Good night, Netto-kun..." Rockman bid as he exited the PET and into the PC.

[Netto-kun isn't the problem. It's the entire world.]

[I can solve this. I have to, as his older brother.]

'They deserve it, after all.' Rockman entered cyberspace, holding a list he created during Netto's time in school. 'There are more than a billion humans in the world, no one would notice if the bad ones die right?'

'Let's execute the problems.' Rock was glad he could use his knowledge in SciLab. He's extremely glad to have SciLab connect to MEXT, eventually stumbling across the registry of METI. Yes. If there was one thing Rockman was happy to learn is that the creation of Personal Terminals had been monopolized by five large companies all licensed in MEXT. Access? Not a problem when each PET requires a program installation. The constant exchanges and menial conversations between officials gave him the correct codes to gain access to the records. Rockman had enough memory to obtain the data of all navis created and preexisting in Electopia. 

'Shall I greet them?' Rockman wonders, entering the area of one of the seniors. 'Or shall they simply wake up and black out?'

[Like a stroke? Like an accident.] Rockman bypasses the navi, placing bug fragments he obtained from the Undernet. Rockman smiles, happy to know that certain viruses would do anything just to consume.

'If one of them survives...' Rockman left, running to the next personal page. 'I always have the next day.'

 

* * *

  

> **I don't know why, but I think my brother got reincarnated as Rockman.**   ~~He acts just like him, always cheerful and hiding something from everyone.~~ Rockman even sounds like him, but remembering him didn't hurt anymore. [I wonder if Rockman is like my digital guardian angel? Maybe Papa is trying to compensate for his presence.]

 

"Student net crime on the rise? What's that about?" Netto wondered as he entered the school premises. 'The subway crash isn't a concern. I haven't been in a train for who knows how long nor have I entered Densan Town in a long time. Yup. That's the only important part I need to know.'

"How about you tell me about Yaito? Is she your friend?" Rockman wondered. Netto pushed the doors, heaving. "She's a smart rich kid who doesn't want to share the answers."

"Huh?" Netto looked around, confused. Something isn't right here. Rockman asked, "Shouldn't you be hurrying to your class?"

"Right." Netto went towards the stairs. "I wonder where they went? Oh well. Kinda glad they're gone."

"Indeed." Rockman agreed, nonchalantly sorting the mail. Delete. Delete. Delete. Rockman shook his head, "So many spam mail."

"Hush... I'm sneaking in." Netto murmured, creeping to his chair and staring at his homeroom teacher with someone? "What's going on?"

"Mariko-sensei? What happened to our math teacher?" A short female raised her hand.

"He... passed away recently." Mariko shook her head, closing her eyes. "Followed with three other teachers."

*whisper. whisper. murmur.*

"Don't care." Netto rest his arms on his table, staring down at his PET. He whispered under his breath, "Good riddance."

"...So class, this is Mr. Higsby." Mariko introduced a man who a strange hairdo and glasses covering his eyes.

"Ahem!" Mariko looked around the room. "He'll be helping me teach the other classes for the next two weeks."

"Hello, I'm Mr. Higsby. I collect battle chips, it's my hobby! I'm looking forward to trading with all of you! Heh heh..." And if it wasn't bad enough, the man snorted and the class greatly disapproved his presence. Mariko coughed once more before the noise worsens, "Everyone, let's give Mr. Higsby a warm welcome, okay?! Well, now, that's all for homeroom today!"

  

> **I don't get why people kill themselves.** ~~I mean I get that life is a bag of scrap filled with bug fragments and other useless data.~~ But surely the bad times will pass right? [Things will get better. Look at me for example, I got a navi that I have synergy with.]

 

"Wow." Netto stared at the bulletin boards covered in Condolence posters. "T-they're all dead. All of them..."

"How is this possible?" A female student sobbed. Another gritted his teeth, closing his eyes. "Fate is cruel this way."

"What could have caused them to suicide?" Another wondered. Few meters away, a male student shouted to his crowd of friends. "Suicide? This was blatant murder!"

"Who could have done this?" A female whispered. Another female mumbled, "Maybe there's a serial killer on the loose?"

"No. It's really just a coincidence." Even the janitor noticed the hallways are crowded more than usual. "Everyone. Please step aside. I need to clean section..."

"..." Netto walked away, hands tucked in his pockets as he looked down. Rockman asked, "Is something wrong, Netto-kun?"

"Yeah..." Netto read the news article clipped on the side and felt something was amiss. "Is their deaths really a part of WWW?"

"..." Rockman didn't comment.

"If so... Why so specific?" Netto shook his head. "I bet a thousand zenny these government officials have not the slightest clue and decided to lump them all together."

"You mean the police. But yes, you'd win if so." Rockman laughed and the two headed back to their class.

"That doesn't mean I like them, those WWW. They still caused my breakfast to burn." Netto sat on his chair, tapping his desk. "Also hurt Meiru-chan."

"Agreed." Rockman checked the exercises messaged to him by the teacher program.

"You think Higsby-sensei has the Fastgauge and Slowgauge chip?" Netto wondered. "I hear those two chips can help execute a program advance. Always did want to see one with my very own eyes... With my very own Navi!"

"Don't worry. I won't overload with the power." Rockman reassured, giving a smile Netto knew his brother used when he did something controversial.

"Hey Rock. What did you do last night?" Netto inquired and Rockman answered. "Deleting your spam, checking your homework and updating your PC. What else would I be doing?"

 

...

 

 ~~~~ **I think things are starting to turn around for me.**   ~~The static is not entirely gone and everything seems to look better.~~ I should thank Papa for this amazing Navi. [But why do I feel something crawling behind my back? Guilt. I did nothing bad recently...?]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stated earlier, Rockman's Ultimate Program helps him adapt to his surrounding. In short, he's your classmate that reached the passing grade in every exam.
> 
> However, Rockman gets stronger through (like the game, manga and anime suggests) bonds and of course, an operator.
> 
> [Unfortunately, Netto's psyche is unstable. Netto just ignores it, pushing it away from anyone.]


	3. Cacophony = Symphony

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meiru knows how Netto feels, but she doesn't know why she can't reach him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Based on the Game, Meiru is really up-to-date and seem to gain the instincts to avoid danger. Parents are abroad and she's living all by herself in her house. She doesn't want anyone to worry... Like Netto.
> 
> I can ship them but man... I suck at romance. Let's focus on reality shall we?
> 
> Now then, how to make WWW a really really high-priority terrorist group?
> 
> I got it. >:)

[The World doesn't stop for anyone...]

 

'Why won't he open up?' The pink-haired female wondered, tapping her desk with her stylus. 'We've been friends since we were kids. Our parents are mostly absent and yet...'

 

"Meiru-chan? Are you thinking about him again?" Her pink Navi teased, giving a tiny smile as Meiru faced her Navi.

"S...So what if I did? He's my friend. I should care for his well-being." Meiru justified herself, holding her PET. "And what about you Roll? I saw the video feed in the microwave. You seem to like Rockman very much."

"W-why would I l-like someone I barely met?" Roll stuttered, looking away. Roll slowly looked back, admitting. "Rockman is nice though."

"He is." Meiru agreed, looking back to see her friend staring at his PET. "If you want, we can invite him to shop with us? Yaito-chan's birthday is coming soon."

"B-but..." Roll was interrupted when the new teacher entered the room.

 

"A-ano... Sensei! Where is Mariko-sensei?" Meiru raised her hand, not trusting this teacher one bit. Something about his face seems shady, moreso his reasons for coming here. 'What if he's the reason all the other teachers got killed? Is he part of the WWW?'

"Mariko-san? She got sick so she went to the nurse' office..." Higsby explained with a shrug. Everyone was taken aback.

"Wh-wha?! But Mariko-sensei never gets sick!" Dekao exclaimed. "No matter how hard I-the weather is!"

"Dekao... You're incriminating yourself." Yaito rolled her eyes, settling back to her chair.

"Quiet, everyone!" Mr. Higsby looked at the entire class. After a moment of silence, he continued. "First class will be at study hall where you will be doing math drills. I'll be checking them later!"

"Aww..." Almost the entire class sighed, except for the certain few.

"Pst! Meiru-chan!" Dekao tried to call her attention, but Meiru knew what the guy wanted. "Can I copy your answers? Come on!"

"Bug off Dekao." Meiru shook her head and stood up before any other of her classmates ask for her help. 'This is why me and Yaito-chan are still single...'

"Now, jack in the blackboard." Higsby began walking out, opening the door. "Good luck everyone. I need to check the other classes."

 

*click.

 

"I don't get it." Netto walked alongside Meiru towards the blackboard. "Why would we be doing math drills when it's after lunch?"

"Higsby-sensei is a chip collector. He must be good in math." Meiru tried to reassure, but Netto responded with a groan. Meiru chuckled, covering her mouth. "Seriously, Netto? This shouldn't be hard for you!"

"This isn't just numbers anymore. We're facing charts and letters for chip's sake." Netto argued but Meiru couldn't help laugh this time. Netto continued, "And I still haven't fully memorized the conversion of units."

"You'll get a hang of it." Meiru comforted, finding it too easy since she has to cook and take care of the chores in the house.

 

"Netto!" Dekao barged in between the duo, glaring at the brunet. "I thought I told you not to flirt with my Meiru-chan?!"

"I wasn't flirting with her." Netto rolled his eyes. "We're doing what friends do, chatting."

"And I am not yours, Dekao." Meiru moved away, disgusted. 'Just because you're the biggest and strongest in the class doesn't mean you're attractive.'

"Eh? B-but..." Dekao thought fast. "I mean as math partners! You're available right?"

"..." Meiru didn't respond. 'If I had known it was then I should've asked Netto.'

"Oy! Dekao! She is my partner, right Meiru-chan?" Yaito came to the rescue, walking up with her PET.

"Yes." Meiru agreed. Not a lot of students walk up to Dekao with his size except for a certain few like Netto or Yaito. 'I still have to teach Yaito to be more social. She deserves to have friends... Like Netto!'

"Shucks..." Dekao scratched the back of his head. Netto asked instead, offering. "How about we team up?"

"NO! We might both fail!" Dekao urged and Netto's eyes widen. Netto agreed immediately, "You're right."

"Boys.." Yaito sighed, turning towards the blackboard and about to plug in just like her other classmates until...

 

**ERROR! ERROR!**

 

"?!" The entire class stared at the board which shifted into series of Ws?! As soon as they saw the infamous WWW, the entire class moved away from the board. Some tried to escape, but the doors are locked.

 

**[All I hear is cacophony.]**

 

"ATTENTION! STUDENTS OF ELECTOPIA!" [Meiru tries to listen and obtain a solution among the screams.] "WE WILL NOW ANNOUNCE... THE REAL GOAL OF OUR PLAN... **TO CONTROL THE NET!** "

"What are the police doing?!" Yaito demanded, cursing when she wasn't able to contact anyone from the outside world. She dragged Meiru to the side, her friend deep in thought.

 

[The world is littered with noise...]

 

"A re-education program...." Rockman pondered, checking the pamphlets being distributed in each PET. The Netnavi mused, "Is it because children are easier to indoctrinate?"

"THE WWW'S TRUE PLAN IS TO START A WAR... ENDGAME!" [Everyone is going around the room, searching for something or contacting anyone. Some are kicking or throwing things at the door. ~~No one wants to be here.~~ ] "WE WILL TAKE CONTROL OF THE ENTIRE NET! THE ONLY CURE FOR THIS ROTTEN WORLD IS DELETION!!!"

"I want my mommy!" A child screamed, not liking the blaring sounds echoing not just from this class, but every other classroom.

"Meiru-chan? Are you okay?" Yaito asked and Meiru slowly looked back up.

"We have to get out of here." Meiru decided, ignoring the sounds as she called for the entire class to gather around. She is the class vice president. "Everyone! Gather around and calm down!"

 

[... **But I won't succumb to the sounds...** ]

 

"Remember how this entire school is connected to huge supercomputer?" Meiru explained, taking some breaths to calm herself down. She needs to be brave.  ~~Her parents wouldn't care if she got hurt anyways.~~ 'I have to be strong.'

"Ah. Yeah..." Netto agreed, somewhat apathetic to the entire situation. "You suggesting we plug in and deactivate the locks?"

"That can work." Another student agreed, a female clutching her PET. "But wouldn't the area be filled with dangerous viruses, viruses made by the WWW?"

"Don't worry everyone!" Dekao yelled, but they could still hear the announcement of the strange man regarding recruitment. "Me and Gutsman will stop them!"

"Hurry! I don't know what will happen once our terminals download the entire content of this re-education thing." A female classmate rebutted.

"Why not we all have a go since we have back-up for our navis?" Another supplied. "If we get stuck then we can help each other."

"Rust. In the end, we still do math drills." Netto heaved and Rockman laughed. "It'll be fine, Netto-kun. At least everyone can help with the assignment."

"On the count of three." Meiru can't believe this, but she's willing to give it a go. She has no choice but to agree since she has never entered the other parts of her school's net, following the rules to avoid getting expelled.

"One. Two. Three!"

 

**"PLUG IN! ****************"**

 

* * *

 

"We have to team up by pairs. It's the best strategy considering the level of our enemies." Glyde suggested, entering the net faster than most of his friends.

"There is only 17 of us..." Roll supplied with a frown. 'Who would want to go alone under a time limit-?'

"I don't mind doing solo." Rockman raised his hand. "Surely, the other students have also plugged into the network."

"Netto. Before we do this." Meiru went towards Netto and gave him a Navi chip she spent all month creating. "Here. I want you to have this. Be careful."

"I will." Netto clenched the chip, looking up to her with a smile. "We'll get through this."

"We will." Meiru answered back, returning to her area and grabbing a hold of her PET.

"I should have my father request a wireless version for these PETs." Yaito complained, watching her friend interact with Netto.

"Would be neat." Meiru agreed and Yaito brightened up. Yaito agreed, trying to alleviate her stress. "I know right?"

 

"Very well..." Glyde looked around the group, already creating a list of pairs. "This is based on the performance from our previous netbattles."

"Glyde! I trusted you~" Roll whined as she got paired with Gutsman while Gutsman did a fist pump.

"Unfortunately, Gutsman is a strong but reckless navi in battle. Please ensure his safety." Glyde bowed slightly.

"Okay... Shall we go, Gutsman?" Roll looked at her partner.

"YES gutsu!" Gutsman nodded eagerly, already rushing to the first line of security.

'He's excited again...' Roll knew she taught Gutsman to stop that habit. 'Oh well.'

 

[We have 15 minutes left]

 

"Section B is down." Yaito reported. "Their re-education system has already started and all of their navis are deleted."

"Section C is also down." Another female called out, tears falling down her eyes. "One of the students suffered a seizure. I don't know how it happened!"

"Grade 6, section A and B are still running." A male reassured. "But the president says the program installed is starting to make them feel dizzy."

"The entire Grade 7 to 9 has collapsed. No signs of their Navis and even confirmed from a lone Grade 6, section C Navi." Netto admitted, frowning.

"This is all guess work." Dekao made a raspberry sound, silently thanking Meiru that she memorized the number of doors and books in the school. "We opened the network leading to school network 4. Who else is still alive?"

 

[We have 11 minutes left...]

 

"Five left!" The president scanned the room, having his Netnavi with Glyde enter the area where Roll and Gutsman stood. "What's the problem?"

"We need a personnel's ID. The lock is connected to the real world." Roll confirmed as she scanned the encryption.

"This sucks." The normal Navi kicked the door. "We already confirmed we can't open the door even after we disabled the security system."

"..." Rockman entered the room last, slightly panting. He looks up, reporting. "Grade 3 and 4 are down."

"Thank god Grade 1 and 2 took a field trip." The President said in relief. Yaito snapped back, "Sure and we're all going to get brainwashed because of the lack of teachers in this entire school!"

"We can't do anything anymore..." Roll watched Rockman scan the lock. "What are we going to do?"

 

[9 minutes left...]

 

"Is that all you got?!" Yaito taunted as the entire male students pushed at the door except for Netto. He's searching for something.

"It's hopeless. The phony probably locked us in manually! Curse these doors!" Dekao cursed the doors.

"Step aside." Netto ordered, plugging Rockman out and realizing how stupid he was. "I just realized the doors have a code in itself! PLUG IN! Rockman.EXE!"

"I feel like an idiot now." Dekao retrieved his PET from the table. 'I knew there was a reason why electricity is still running in the door.'

 

*Click!

 

"Done!" Netto activated his roller skates as the door made a clicking sound. As soon as the door got unlocked, the entire class got out just to avoid the repetitive speech regarding humanity and whatnot. It was only the last four students who stayed, still needing to tend to their navis.

"Netto! Hurry!" Meiru pleaded and Netto nodded before rushing off.

 

[5 minutes...]

 

"Netto-san did it!" The President cheered, but too busy to express his joy. The four Navis scanned the last Network area, slowly descending to the area where the entire school database resides. One last passcode.

"Shall we?" Glyde isn't sure what enemy they will face but if they don't end this soon. 'Who knows when the NetOps would arrive?'

"Maybe we should wait for Rock?" Roll suggested but Gutsman couldn't wait. They did have 2 minutes left and 

"Let's go!" Gutsman pressed forward, forcing the entire group to rush in to save the Navi.

 

**[We had 3 minutes...]**

 

* * *

 

"Everyone!" Mariko rushed with Netto, mouth slightly sore as she rubbed her wrists. "Before you fight, please be careful-?!"

"Meiru-chan?! Dekao?!" Netto noticed the classroom's door locked in front of them. He turned towards the remaining students panicking and struggling to reconnect to their parents. "What happened?!"

"They lost and the doors locked behind them!" One of his classmate screamed.

"No! This is all my fault." Mariko bit her lower lip. "If I had only foreseen this sooner..."

"It doesn't matter anymore." Netto checked the small screen passed the door, panic rising for his childhood friend. "Mariko-sensei! Isn't there another way to enter the School's network?!"

"There is but you'll have to fight alone." Mariko discussed, immediately checking her memory if she has any tips for her student. "I don't have a choice, do I? Follow me!"

"Students!" Mariko looked at the frightened students. "Can you barricade the doors to the outside for us? Don't worry. I won't let anything bad happen to you. I promise."

"Netto-kun. Do you think anyone will save us?" Rockman wondered as they ran down the hallways.

 

[If you resist the noise, you're only going to get hurt.]

 

"There are more than a hundred schools against a hundred and two Police stations in Tokyo alone. Pretty sure WWW did a wide-scale assault so the entire agency is kinda busy rushing to the public schools first before the private." Netto turned to the side, following Mariko who pulled out her ID card.

"How about the NGOs?" Rockman offered. Netto enters the classroom, watching Mariko manually connect the wires for it to activate.

"You have a point. NGOs usually have stronger Netnavis than the government." Netto pulled the cord, heading to the blackboard slowly starting up. "But who is to say that the WWW have its supporters causing a ruckus to distract the police."

"Log in and head to the core." Mariko checked the connection, placing a chair so the door wouldn't close without them knowing.

"Plug in! Rockman.EXE!" Netto rushed towards the abandoned classroom which Mariko manually had to connect to the school.

 

[But...]

 

"Netto-kun. It seems the perpetrator called for assistance." Rockman answered, entering cyberspace and walking up the slope. Rockman looked around the area, checking the surveillance footage. "It seems whoever is handling our area is the mastermind with the other school's reprogramming."

"This is what we get for downgrading NEETs of society." Netto joked and Rockman arrived to the same area with the barricade.

"Netto-kun. Use pierce-based chips, move away from any die tossed and destroy any time bombs he place on the field." Mariko instructed as she helped Netto with his chip folder. "Thankfully, Higsby-san doesn't use the rare chips he collects."

"Value depreciates with every usage." Netto understands the feeling.

"I have a bad feeling his reason for joining is for the chips." Rockman has a sweat drop. Watching the two segregate for battle, Rockman asked. "Anything else, sensei?"

"Numberman tends to hide in the shadows, but that doesn't mean you get close understood?" Mariko moved back as Netto finalized his chip folder. "Netto-kun. Stay calm and plug out if it's too much. We can always do a hit and run on him."

"No. We don't have much time." Netto ordered with his fingers holding a chip. "Ready, Rockman?"

 

**[WARNING. WARNING. WARNING.]**

 

"I didn't think you'd make it this far!" A peculiar green Navi commented, finally securing the area of its announcement program.

"Deactivate the program, immediately." Rockman pointed his buster, peeved at the cheeriness of this program. He also can't forgive this Navi for deleting his friends... His brother's friends.

"Eh?" The program titled Numberman tilts his head, confused. "But being a WWW slave is fun! Am I right, Higsby-san?"

"Yes!" The shady nerd agreed. "With the salary from WWW, I can finally buy all the rare chips!"

"Higsby-san. Don't you feel bad for using your position as a teacher to hurt students?" Mariko asked, shaming the man. "What would be the point of buying chips if everyone gets hurts in the process? Don't you ever think about the children?"

"Huh..." The mastermind turned silent. "W-well... Yeah but... I'd do anything for rare chips!"

 

_**[Static.]** _

 

"Rare chips isn't everything!" Rockman answered back, his hands shifted into a shotgun. Rockman prepared for battle.

"Silence! You have no idea what I..." Higsby's conscience is beginning to work, but not fast enough. "Numberman! Delete him!"

"Let's go, Rockman. Battle routine, set!" With the help of his teacher's chips, Netto can perform a new program advance called Beta Wave and Sigma Wave. 'I just have to be very fast!'

"Execute!" Rockman aimed at the Navi, shooting immediately. The battle wasn't easy. Apparently, certain pick axes could crack the panels he needed to walk on. Not helpful how the guy keeps tossing a huge die at him. Yes. Right at him or at the center of the field.

"Netto-kun!" Rockman requested, HP and energy low from the continuous barricade. 'Stop healing!'

"Sorry! Roll R! Slot in!" Netto can't seem to perfect the execution with the program advances, needing to remove the temporary decommissioned chip and insert another.

"?" Rockman watched in amazement as time slowed down, observing a hologram of Roll rush to the enemy and slap Numberman with her antennas before healing him. Rockman felt his chest, unsure what he witnessed few seconds ago. 'That.. is weird.'

"Rockman! This is it!" [Rockman prepares to end the healing piece of bug fragment.]

"Battle chip Shock wave C! Sonic Wave C! Dyna Wave C! Slotted in!" After four minutes of trial and error, Netto learns the best way to synch himself is to scream the chips in order. His hands will follow suit. Analyzation would be consequential and upload should be enough to create a single program.

"Program advance! **Beta wave!** " Rockman dashed forward, borderline tired and ready to literally stab a pick axe on the Navi's chest. Instead, he opted not to and hit the ground which let out nine consecutive waves.

 

**_[The world turns silent...]_ **

 

 

"Na...Numberman..." Higsby watched his navi get deleted. Netto slumped to a chair, hands slightly shaking with the amount of chips he had to insert. 'If it wasn't for Mariko-sensei. I would have ran out of chips!'

"Higsby-san. Please return everything back to normal." Mariko requested and the man cried?

"Gwaaaaaa!"

"What will your rare chips do now, huh?" Netto wiped a trickle of sweat from the side of his face, wishing the room had better ventilation.

*Sniff... Sniff...*

"..." Rockman watched the human, recalling the tears of his father.

 

_**[???]** _

 

"I'm sorry... I'll fix everything now. I'll call the reinforcements off. I should've known better." Higsby promised. "You're right. Collecting chips should be earned through hard work. *sniff. I'll be good... I'll even send myself to the police."

"Thank goodness this is all over." Mariko slumped onto the desk, calling the ambulance for the unconscious children in her area.

"I-if I get out, you don't mind trading chips sometime right?" Higsby asked. Rockman continued staring at him, expression blank as he recalled the past.

"Neh... Mariko-sensei?" Netto asked softly after Mariko finalized the call. "Is it... Is it okay if we don't turn Higsby-san in? I mean... He didn't really mean all of this and only a hour passed since everything started."

"But Netto-kun! He traumatized students and even caused several others to lose their navis." Mariko berated Netto. "How will we know that he won't do this deed anymore?"

"Y-you really want to forgive me?" [Rockman watched the human cry once more. At least the entire system is back to normal.]

"Yeah. We can always say someone apprehended the mastermind and move on." Netto looked at his teacher. "He also has great programming skills. He can upgrade the school's security system if he could."

 

"You really want to forgive him, don't you?" Mariko slumped her shoulders at the determined brunet.

"Yes. He's misunderstood, that's all." Netto looked at Rockman. "What do you think Rockman?"

"The incident took seventy-eight minutes in total." Rockman slowly looked back at the two. "The program's frequencies only caused slight trauma to those sensitive or unprepared towards the sudden exposure. With the internet going back online, the News reports the police solving the case with a human criminal declaring himself as the mastermind. Right now, everyone is agreeing to his confession so I believe this will be a good alibi for Higsby's innocence."

"I can't believe this." Mariko shook her head. Netto laughed, "It'll be fine, right Mariko-sensei?"

"But if there are WWW members rushing into the building, you are so...." Mariko warned but she didn't continue as she ran outside after hearing a dozen of footsteps rush into the building.

"Better start lying and redeem yourself." Netto hinted and hearing the man cry louder, joked. "Stop crying! You still have to set up a shop and sell those chips you used!"

"I don't deserve this!" Higsby cried, falling down to his knees and wiping his snot-filled face.

 

_**[Unknown]** _

* * *

 

"..." Meiru slowly opened her eyes, waking up in her room?

"I made...Er you know what?" Netto placed a bowl of ramen. "I can't cook but I made ramen."

"Netto?" Meiru sat up, looking around her room.

"He brought you here when the doctors requested for your parent's presence." Roll told her.

"Ah..." Meiru looks back at Netto, smiling. "Why didn't you bring me to your house instead? I'm sure Mrs. Hikari would let me eat on your table~'

"No way! You remember last time we did that, she kept teasing us." Netto sat down on a chair, giving a pair of chopsticks for her to eat. "Besides, she might ask about your parents and all..."

"Thank you." Meiru meant it, slurping her noodles.

 

"Don't be. I should be thanking you." Netto leaned on the chair, closing his eyes. "How long does it take for Roll's chip to be active?"

"After three hours." Meiru supplied, drinking the soup. "You should try making a Rockman Chip."

"All Rockman does is shoot." Netto snickered and Rockman frowned. "I do more than shoot! I... I can punch and kick."

"It's okay Rock. You'll get upgrades in due time." Roll comforted and Rockman bowed his head. "That's not making me feel any better, Roll-chan."

"Right." Netto opened his eyes. "Good news. The Mastermind is caught. Bad news. Class isn't suspended."

"Is the Mastermind Mr. Higsby?" Meiru asked and Netto shook his head. 'What? But I was sure...'

 

"He's just a very shady guy." Netto crossed his arms, observing Rockman and Roll chat. "After the incident, he realized he wasn't fitted to becoming a teacher."

"Why? Did you suspect him?" Netto looked back at Meiru.

"Y-yeah..." Meiru kept eating her meal. "Any mail from Mariko-sensei?"

"You have English homework." Rockman and Roll at the same time said.

"Help?" Netto asked after the declaration.

"When will you learn?" Meiru huffed, squinting at Netto.

"Come on~ You're a good teacher, Meiru-chan!" Netto clapped both hands together, bowing his head. "I promise not to copy your essay!"

 

"Fine fine. Just this once." Meiru gave in, smiling as Netto brightened up.

 

[We'll keep fighting.]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember, Netto has been searching in the UnderNet.
> 
> Higsby is nothing compared to the people Netto tries to negotiate with from the depths of the NET.
> 
> [Netto is also smart enough not to get caught because dayum. Pretty sure the Red room is still a hot topic due to human desires.]


	4. Strength over Intelligence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dekao wished he was born with different parents but with the same little brother.
> 
> He doesn't get the other kids, always missing their parents. He's happy with his life alone... Except he worries for his bro from time to time... Yeah. He has to make Gutsman strong and be a role model for Chisao.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another explanation why Dekao becomes a Mayor - Politician parents.
> 
> Gospel and WWW will be happening at the same time. Sorry but I don't get the one incident at a time thing if one organization is trying to make the life virus and the other is trying to create the ultimate navi, it's fine to assume they may team or not team up.
> 
> Also, the two organizations would definitely cause the Police to not find the exact locations of the two groups. It's perfect! Right. Gospel is an earlier organization which you will never learn down below because kids wouldn't be able to search that (unless I use Enzan but he has other functions).

 

> _"A denGas employee?" Rockman raised an eyebrow, staring at the Custom Navi Airman._
> 
> _"Why would you do this? For Money?! Revenge?" Netto frowned, slightly fanning himself so the fumes won't get to him. 'The entire mansion stunk. Thank god the butlers and servants are active.'_
> 
> _"Ha! Any rich girl would do! This is an easy 200 million." The man laughed and Rockman pointed his buster while Glyde brandished his flame sword._
> 
> _"You will not go unpunished!" Glyde vowed. "En garde!"_

 

"How am I going to do this?" Dekao sat on the floor, staring at his PET. If he decreased the upgrades, Gutsman would be able to move faster... But his attacks will go weaker. It's been a month since he had Gutsman fight and lose to two terrorist Navis. He has to break this curse. He needs to rethink his strategy.

 

**Speed or strength?**

 

"Why can't we have both?" Dekao groaned, slumping on his pile of manga and textbooks. Since Gutsman is too slow and the fact he's knuckle-based, punch chips would give an additional fifty damage and that's without any upgrades installed.

'I also can't tell anyone that Gutsman gets stronger each time he defeats a virus or navi.' Dekao heaved, having to juggle his time in school while teaching Chisao his homework at night. No one needs to know about his brother. His smart trusting brother always supporting him on whatever shenanigans he wants to do. 'Chisao is right. Gutsman is me in a way... Punching anything that gets in my way. The only problem is that life doesn't have a simple answer.'

 

**Speed won't matter if you can restrain your enemy's moves**

 

"Dekao. You think Chisao will be fine, guts?" Gutsman asked, watching his operator worry.

"I talked with him, didn't I? He's fine. He wouldn't be scared of a simple traffic jam.." Dekao thinks of installing a program that will destroy the panels at will. 'However, wouldn't that limit Gutsman's movement as well?'

"Maybe..." Dekao can find a program that can give the repair and destroy panel as a passive ability. However, a lot of operators would hate that program. It's too simple and annoying. Not even useful as his father would say. Screw his father.

 

**I'm not like them. I can do this on my own.**

 

"No." Dekao decides not to use his connections. Everything he does is worthless? That he's a disappointment to the family? He'll show them. Netbattling is an amazing and cool activity. 'I don't need them and their connections. Gutsman and I will prove them wrong. I should try applying to become a NetOp-'

*Ding! Dong!

"Eh?" Dekao checked his cameras, seeing Netto standing on his doorstep.

 'It's just him.' Dekao shrugged, deactivating his door just for Netto to come in. He waits, sitting back up and reading a manga about this awesome robot named Zero. It's not like he doesn't like Netto. Netto is a pretty okay guy, somehow attracting danger wherever he goes. Yeah. 'Maybe I should have Gutsman escort his Navi? There would be tons of viruses after his Navi I bet!'

"Coming in." Netto said before opening the door. Dekao prepared his chip pack, telling Gutsman. "Time for some training."

"Guts?" Gutsman blinked in confusion.

 

"Dekao!" Netto came in his room, PET in hand. "You know the Metroline is up right?"

"After the subway incident? Course I do." Dekao is up to date with the news. He has to in case Chisao asks him what's going on in Electopia. True. Netopia has amazing food, but something about that place makes holidays really _really_  dull. Electopia is best... And that's not because he's patriotic to his country. 'Okay. Maybe I am...'

"Yeah. I heard papa was coming back from Netopia so I wanted to visit him." Netto stared down at him. "But the train system ran into a problem and the only way to solve it is to get pass your PC. Give me your link?"

"Hm...." Dekao can't just give his link to anyone.

"We can always e-mail him and wait for your father to encrypt it?" Rockman offered and boy Dekao knows that _tone_ anywhere.

"Fine but you got to give me some things in return. Don't worry. It's easy stuff." Dekao explained. Even if he would like to help Rockman not encounter his creator(?), Netto did look up to the scientist and turning Netto down was like turning Chisao down. Don't tell but Netto and Chisao have similar eyes and a trait in attracting danger. It's also the same reason why Dekao punched a student that bullied Chisao. 'Serves them right.'

"What?" Netto wondered and Dekao confessed something he could never do.

 

"The first thing I need is a Recov50 L chip. You can get it in Meiru-chan's PC." Dekao explained and Netto stared at him. Dekao scratched the back of his neck. "Look. What sort of guy would I be to enter my love interest's house?"

"Wouldn't I look like the stalking pervert instead?" Netto squinted and Dekao pointed at the brunet.

"What?! You and Meiru-chan are childhood friends. It's okay for childhood friends to enter each other's PC." Dekao also wants to say: 'and this is the reason why I see you as a rival because bytes! How are you going to go up against a childhood friend of your crush?!'

"Fine. Anything else?" Netto wondered and Dekao reassured. "The last one is easy."

 

...

 

"A netbattle?" Netto repeated. Dekao repeated his words as well. "And I get to escort you. Gutsman needs the training after all."

"Ah..." Rockman made an ahh sound before saying. "Really now?"

"Just fight me, Guts!" Gutsman demanded and Rockman laughed.

"Sure." Netto plugged in the training game console. Once both Navis are plugged in, Dekao prepared his chips. "Prepare to meet your maker!"

 

"Guts! Guts! Guts!" Gutsman kept punching but Rockman avoided all of it as he let out small buster shots.

"Stop moving guts!" Gutsman ordered and Rockman moved away to another column just in time for the shockwave.

"You go into a habit when you're emotionally unstable." Rockman noticed, dropping his gun. "Netto-kun. Give me a chip. Gutsman's armor has strengthened exponentially-?!"

"I got you!" Gutsman punched Rockman who couldn't move back as the panels behind him broke.

"Tsk!" Rockman winced at the pain. Dekao knows Rockman can't flip or carry Gutsman anymore. 'You'll need to equip a muscle program for that! Obviously, your size wouldn't have that, would it?!'

"Battle chip Recov80! Slotted in!" Netto inserted a healing chip but Rockman said.

 

" **G̷̱̐i̷͙̔v̸̝͛ḙ̵̇ ̶̥͠m̴͍̐e̴̻̾ ̴̰͌a̴̦̅ ̶̦͘s̴̨w̶̛͚o̴͓̍r̷̩̿d̴͉͆.̸̺̾** "

 

"?!" Both him and Netto felt a chill down his spine. The command Rockman used actually had Netto slot in a long sword.

"Thank you." Rockman's tone went back to normal, blocking and pushing Gutsman back just in time to head to another column.

"What the?" Dekao didn't get what happened there but something happened. 'But what?'

"Dekao, guts!" Gutsman's voice snapped Dekao back to reality, slotting in a Recov80 chip in time.

 

**But that wasn't enough.**

 

"Rockman! Stop!" Netto called out before Rockman slit the Navi's throat.

!!!

"..." Rockman lowered his blade. For some reason, Gutsman was on the ground, probably tripping during Rockman's offensive and wasn't able to move away due to the broken panels around him.

'That was close!' Dekao used mini energy to heal his Navi. Dr. Light was the one who made the Navi right? 'Shoot. Rockman felt like a hitman for a second there. Those vengeful hitman in the movies.'

"I win?" Rockman said, unsure and actually confused if he did something wrong. "Why is Dekao-kun pale, Netto-kun?"

"Surprise. Don't worry 'bout it." Gutsman let out a breath of air. 'The aura Rockman had for that split second...'

  

> _**[It's over.]**_  Emerald eyes glinting, Rockman turns with his blade slicing the air and directly to his throat.

 

'Rockman is scary when he's angry.' Gutsman accepted Rockman's hand, standing up as Rockman reverts back to his responsible passive self. "You're strong, Rockman."

"You too." Rockman agreed. "You nearly had me there hehe."

"I noticed hehehe...." Gutsman doesn't understand this feeling. It's an odd feeling. The last time he felt something similar to that was when Dekao learned Chisao got hurt by a bunch of humans.

 

* * *

 

"Okay. The link is yours. Let's get going!" Dekao sent the data to Netto's PET, standing up to head to his computer. "Plug in my computer. Let's get the Metroline going!"

"So do you see the Navis passing your area for any instance?" Netto asked as they both plugged their Navis in.

"Yeah. You want to see the record? It's here-" Dekao opened his PC to see a strange name. A custom Netnavi name? No. It's different because this NetNavi is customized but replicated X amount of times because of its durability.

 

[STONEMAN]

 

"Netto. Here." Dekao gave a Gutsman Chip. He has tons of them, but each one keeps getting better and better. All you need to create a Navi chip is a blank chip and knowledge on programming. Sad how no one beats him so he doesn't know who to give his Navi Chips. "We'll be needing this."

"Why?" Netto pockets the chip as Rockman followed Gutsman.

"Stoneman shouldn't be here." Dekao explained. "He's usually in Mining sites or construction areas."

"But the Metroline was getting constructed back then right?" Netto assumed.

"No." Dekao can't believe he has to explain this. It should be obvious. "Stoneman programs shouldn't be in train systems because they have no function in restoring and repairing trains. Stoneman isn't a smart or agile program. They're like security and analysis administrators. For trains, you need other specialized programs for that."

"Ah..." Netto understood the reasoning. "Wait! You're actually smart?!"

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Dekao elbows Netto who made an exaggerated gasp.

"You should show that to Mariko-sensei. She always thinks you're bullying people." Netto looked back at his PET.

"Nah." Dekao found that to be laborious. Watching Gutsman defeat the viruses, Dekao muttered. "See. There's the green program tasked to take care of the safety program. Wait. Why is it there?"

 

"I just saw some really big guy there. Can you ask him to leave? We can't work like this." The green program requested and Gutsman walked down to the ramp.

"We will." Rockman reassured, quickly following the Navi who knows his ways here.

"A rogue Stoneman, g-" Gutsman should stop saying that. It's not healthy. Roll said so.

"Gok... Gokgok (Out of my way....)" The huge cuboid Navi said.

"Who is ordering you to do this?!" Gutsman inquired while Rockman looked back and forth between Gutsman and Stoneman.

"Gokgok gok! (Blocking the Metroline security program so it won't open!)" The Navi proceeded to slam its hands to the ground. "Gokgok Gokgok! (To control the net!)"

 

"It's preordered, Dekao." Gutsman explained while Rockman scratched the side of his chin. "We have to defeat him!"

"Why can't I understand him?" Rockman wondered. "I must really need an update."

"Don't worry Rockman. Neither of us understand him." Netto prepared his chips.

"Gok! (Stoneman must delete all programs that interfere!)" It also readied for battle.

"Let's go, Gutsman!" Rockman stated. ~~He has a feeling this is another nuisance.~~

"Guts punch!" Gutsman rushed forward as Rockman summoned out another copy of Gutsman. Stoneman gets temporarily stunned, just in time for another punch-

 

*Swwssh!

 

"End." Rockman sliced the crest and even stabbed his sword in place, falling down to land beside Gutsman. "Can you destroy the rocks, Gutsman?"

"Leave it to me!" Gutsman used sonic wave, destroying the small debris before punching the gigantic boulder to oblivion.

"That should do the trick." Dekao nodded to himself and Netto asked. "You wanna come check out the government complex? Papa might have some chips for you there."

"Hmm..." Dekao thought about it. He could since he did hear there was a chip trader in the facility. The possibilities... "Sure. I got nothing to do."

"You guys have homework!" Rockman yelled and both humans feigned deaf as they unplugged their navis.

 

"Onwards!" Netto yelled, walking out of the apartment. Dekao followed suit. It's not like Meiru would visit his complex. She never visits him unless he gets hurt.

 

* * *

 

[GOVERNMENT COMPLEX]

 

"What was that?" Dekao asked as they stepped out of the train.

"An HPMemory and PowerUp." Netto installs it but noticed his Netnavi wince. "E-eh? Does it hurt Rockman?"

"A little." Rockman laughs, waving his hands. "But I'm fine really!"

"You really don't want a maintenance, do you?" Netto hummed and Dekao patted his classmate's shoulder.

"Netto. If you really want to be a good operator, learn how to update your Navi." Dekao advised.

 

**You can't rely on grown-ups forever.**

 

"I will..." Netto consented, perking up at the smell of food.

"Race ya!" Dekao ran for it, already aware of this all natural meal.

"H-hey!" Netto laughed, running after him. They proceeded to a small stall owned by Saroma. Dekao heaved, raising one finger. "One... One obento please!"

"The first one is free, especially with the water crisis going on lately... You children need the energy." Saroma offered a small green-colored lunch box. She looked up, also hanging out a blue bento box to the roller skating kid. "Here you go!"

"How does it taste?" Rockman asked as Netto took the meal with a thankful smile. The blue Navi looked at the vendor. "Who are you?"

"My name is Saroma, an advocate to Nature." Saroma looked at the amazed Navi. "Hm~ If you want another one then you'll have to challenge me."

 

"This is amazing!" Netto exclaimed, holding his chopsticks as he ate the rice.

"You haven't had breakfast. Anything would taste good to you." Rockman frowned. Gutsman nudged Rockman's shoulder, defending. "Food is always good for them, guts!"

"Wish we had food..." Rockman mumbled and Gutsman sighed.

"We'll fight *chew* after we're done with sumthing *nom*!" Dekao is eating this scrumptious meal. 'A netbattle with food as the prize?! I'm in!'

"The challenge is always open." Saroma laughed and Rockman asked. "Does Netto-kun want more?"

"A... Yeah!" Netto ate happily, drinking the water given as well. Unfortunately, another vendor beside them screamed. "Hey! You can come to me kids! I sell it cheaper and free water refills!"

"Who's that?" Netto wondered as Saroma smiled. The green-haired vendor explained, "That's Masa-san. He's a fish vendor. He serves really good sashimi."

 

"If you can defeat me in a Netbattle, you can have ten slabs of salmon and I'll even debone it!" Masa caused several of the customers to go to Masa's area, noticing the cheaper price. Saroma explained, grabbing the finished containers left behind. "The only weak point of his shop would be the fact he sells only fish products."

"Don't forget your daily calcium intake!" Masa yelled, cutting slabs of fish into small pieces and serving it with water.

"Kinda expensive though...For sashimi." Netto checked the prices. Saroma shook her head, "He increased the price because of the water shortage. If you request for no water, it would be cheaper."

"Darn." Netto slumped his head. "Watching them eat makes me crave for fish too."

"You should've stored water like me." Dekao told off, still eating. It's already been three days since Akihabara lost water. Dekao could offer Meiru to use his bathroom but that would sound lewd. Thank the heaven's that Yaito offered the females to take a bath in her mansion or the girls would smell.

"As if I knew this would happen." Netto continued eating. "At least class got suspended today."

"True." Both kept eating.

 

* * *

 

"Netto." Dekao suggested, starting to get worried. A lot of businesses have been shutting down due to the water shortage. If this keeps up, Electopia has to start importing water from the rural areas. "How about you visit your Dad and ask about it? Waterworks should be on the other side of SciLab and Powerplant."

"I could.... Later..." Netto placed his bento down when he received another message.

"Who is it?" Dekao leaned closer to check the message. "Someone got kidnapped?"

"A student from Section B." Netto scrolled down, eyes widening. "We should find him later."

"Both of you. Don't stay out too late." Saroma warned, slightly frowning. "WWW and Gospel are starting to go active. Nowhere is safe now until the criminals are contained."

"Okay!" Both agreed, thanking and walking away from the stall.

"She's a nice person." Netto nodded, walking towards the building. Dekao looked around to see the thirsty and angry individuals. "The vendors are trying to calm the people down."

 

"Sorry. You can't enter right now." A scientist explained to one of the angry individuals, hiding behind one of the police.

"We haven't had water for two weeks!" A male pushed hard against the security guards with a shield. "Where is the manager?!"

"I don't think we can enter right now. Maybe we should try tomorrow?" Rockman suggested but Netto shook his head. "We have to. Mama gave me a letter to send to Papa."

"Love letter?!" Dekao didn't think that was still a thing. 'Old love is weird.'

"Not sure but I have to also get Rockman updated." Netto checked his PET. "I don't get why he needs a monthly maintenance. It makes him sound unstable."

"The doctor is just _worried_." Rockman said with a bit of sarcasm. Netto didn't notice, already pushing passed the crowd with Dekao behind him.

"Excuse me! I'm with a friend and I would like to visit my father, Dr. Hikari!" Netto addressed and one of the scientists whispered to the police.

 

"Get in!" Someone dragged Netto who clenched Dekao's arm tight just so he'd come to.

 

*Slam!

 

* * *

 

"Why did you let his son in?"

"He's technically Dr. Hikari's son. Why shouldn't I?"

"We shouldn't let children in his office. Who knows what they'll take?"

"Who cares if they take things there?"

 

"What's wrong?" Netto intruded. "Isn't papa here already?"

"Oh... No. He..." The scientist plays nice, but Dekao knows that's the voice someone use to butter up with someone. The scientists coughs, "Dr. Hikari boarded a plane with a Gospel Terrorist in it. Fortunately, an S-Licensed NetOp was there to subdue the enemy. He'll return to SciLab after three days. If that's all, I suggest you leave."

"But I need to give him this letter and have him check on Rockman." When the scientists heard the Navi Name, they laughed.

"Don't bother. He doesn't need a maintenance." The scientist pulls out a device. "Here. I'll encode it for him."

"But shouldn't Papa-" Netto watched the scientist grab the PET and plug a USB into the PET.

"Rockman isn't a strong Navi." A scientist explained. He didn't notice Dekao requesting Gutsman to enter the PET and copy the identification files. "It's only the Chairman who insists on keeping track on Rockman. This is why the scientists abandoned the project to begin with."

"It was so bad that they quit their job."

 

**A failure.**

 

"Rockman is not a failure!" Netto hugged his PET when it was given back. The scientist shook his head, patting Netto's head. "I know he isn't. He just didn't match up to our expectation. I'm sure your father can make him strong for you."

"But!" Netto looked ready to defend his Navi but it was hopeless. These scientists already formed an opinion and will stick to it until it's too late.

"Oy Netto! Let's go." Dekao dragged Netto away from the scientists. Netto struggled from his hold, but Dekao only let go after they reached the supposed resting area.

"Why did you do that?!" Netto yelled, angry. "They were insulting Rockman!"

"It's no use. They're grown-ups." Dekao shrugged, looking at his PET. "Gutsman? Did you get the data?"

"We have access to the elevators, Guts!" Gutsman even shared it with Rockman who was still a bit disoriented from whatever the scientist done.

"T-thank you..." Rockman held his head, shaking it.

"Come on! Let's place the letter and head to the Waterworks." Dekao suggested, already sneaking to the elevator. They didn't need much sneaking, considering a number of aristocrats and well-known entities were complaining at the front desk.

 

*DING!

 

"Huh. No one here." Dekao entered the office. It's completely silent. The lights are even off. Netto walks forward, entering a cubicle which belongs to his father.

"We should at least leave a message." Netto placed the letter on the desk as he connects the PC.

"Can we not?" Rockman huffed. Netto laughed, "Come on Rockman! Papa's not that bad."

"..." Rockman rolled his eyes before being plugged in. Meanwhile, Dekao is looking around the other cubicles.

"What the?" Dekao stared at the nonsense but there was one thing he understood in all of this heap. "Synchro chip?"

"What did you find Dekao?" Netto called out and Dekao reread the entire thing. He has to make sure he got this right.

"You remember how we have moments of getting synched with our Navis?" Dekao knows that's a hot topic. Everyone knows that. It's like a concentration mode that boosts your Navi's accuracy in his or her attacks. "So your dad's homies want to take it to another level."

"What do you mean?" Netto finally came out of the cubicle, really confused with whatever Dekao said until he stared at the contraption.

 

...

 

"Wow." Netto didn't know what else to say. Dekao slowly nodded his head, rereading the prototypes and failures. "Yup. We get to be fighting cosplayer hybrids."

"That doesn't sound right, Guts!" Gutsman argued and Dekao laughed. "Don't worry Gutsman! I'm sure this is a project for NetOps to combat Terrorism."

"..." Netto keeps rereading the expectations and the other items required for this  **Cross Fusion**. Netto took a step back, shaking his head. "This is a bad idea."

"Only Operators that can achieve a high synchro rate with their Navis can crossfuse and even then, it could fail.." Dekao had to read it ten times just to get the science fiction. "It's literally a human experiment."

"We should pretend never seeing this." Netto warned to Dekao and he can do that.

 

"?" Netto received another message. "Oh."

"What? Tell me man!" Dekao is starting to think he should befriend Yaito because she's really nosy and he wants in on the latest news.

"The kid missing is named Hikawa Tohru." Netto read and Dekao scratched his chin. "He's the kid of Hikawa Seiji right? The head scientist of the purification water thing here?"

"I'm starting to see you in a different way, Dekao." Netto had to say that.

"If you had attended the parties of your dad then maybe you would know them!" Dekao lightly punched the teen's shoulder who flinched in pain.

"Netto-kun!" Rockman yelped, glaring at Dekao. "Don't be hard on him, Dekao-kun!"

"N-nah. He's right." Netto rubbed his shoulder, holding his PET. "It's just... The last time I entered a party with dad, me and my... Forget about it."

 

"Netto..." Dekao doesn't know what to say now. He remembers Meiru saying Netto had a brother, but the first time he met Netto, there was no one with him.

"Let's go. Mama might get worried for me." Netto began walking away from the planning board. "WWW and Gospel... I wonder when they'll stop?"

"Dunno." Dekao followed, nudging Netto when they enter the elevator. "If you want to learn more, how about signing up to become a NetOp? I bet Meiru-chan and I can reach A-License without a sweat."

"Heheh... I'll think about it...?" Netto blinked when Dekao dropped his father's ID on his hand. "Dekao!"

"If you act natural in going to the elevator, no one would question you." Being a kid of a similar sensitive field, Dekao knows how life works. 'If you're born with perks but hate its origins then use everything to outshine the origin.'

 

**Strength has many forms.**

 

"Thank god you aren't my role model." Netto sighed in relief. Dekao shook his head, "Right. You have this **Commander Beef** as your role model."

"Hey! He's the head of a secret Virus busting group!" Netto pointed his hand at the offender. "At least I don't analyze my fictional characters!"

"How dare you?! Megaman X is a potential Alternate Universe had Dr. Wily not lost funding!" Dekao rebutted.

"Megaman X?" Rockman looked towards Gutsman who explained.

"Before the NET became sensationalized, there were robots... Guts." Gutsman showed a number of articles relating to the blue bomber. "Because of the series of reprogramming and strong opposition towards robots, there only came two production lines of robots and then.... Gone guts."

"If the production stopped, why would someone write a Megaman X...?" Rockman tilted his head.

"No! Rockman! Don't start it-" Netto was cut off by Dekao who talked as they exited the elevator.

"You see? Dr. Wily declared he would beat Rockman one day and ran off to who knows where. It's highly thought that Dr. Tadashi Light, A.K.A. Netto's grandfather, created Megaman X and sealed him in a capsule until such a time Dr. Wily unleashes his greatest creation Z-"

"ENOUGH!" Netto screamed, running away from the fanboy. "Let's go home and search for Tohru! Let's go!"

 

"I'm not done yet!" Dekao cried, chasing after Netto. "He has to know about the potential advancement of military technology from the mad genius!"

"Doctor... Wily?" Rockman muttered, eyes looking down.

* * *

 

_**[Incomprehensible]** _

 

"..." Rockman watched Netto struggle to fall asleep. The water shortage has been going on for a week now. 'If this keeps up, Netto-kun might die...'

"?" Rockman stared at the data he grabbed. A link that connects him to SciLab. A dreadful but essential area. A system that contains back-up for Electopia's entire Network and the programs within it.

'The scientists earlier were mean to Netto-kun.' Rockman held his chest. 'I should teach them a lesson.'

 

_**Pain** _

 

'The static is coming back.' Rockman thought, slowly looking back at Netto. 'Is Netto-kun the reason why...?'

"I should find this Hikawa Tohru." Rockman muttered to himself, exiting the PC and into the net. 'Meiru-chan is right. Maybe Dr. Hikawa is being manipulated. If I find the child then this will all be over.'

'What if there are bad people with him?' Rockman searched around Electopia, hopping from one security system to another. He scans the data circulating, trying to find any anomaly. Too many, but not the right one.

'Then they'll have to go too.' Rockman concluded, reaching a particular surveillance camera where he noticed a strange yellow car. It's been parked for a week and it's been showing signs of irregular movement with shady entities entering and exiting it.

*Zwip

Rockman transmitted into the car and after an hour, it unlocked with an SOS signal being transmitted.

'Not there.' Exiting, Rockman entered the building's security system nearby. He encounters a number of Navis who've yet to notice him.

 

"So we just need two more Superprograms right?"

"Yeah. We would've had more if not for Gospel."

"Sheesh. Who does that guy think he is? Rejecting Dr. Wily's proposal?"

 

"..." Rockman checked and there are fifteen grown individuals in the building. Rockman opened his mouth, letting out a puff of air.

"What a long night this will be."

 

_**[Erase]** _

__

* * *

 

 " ** _This just in. We have finally caught the perpetrator of the water crisis to be none other than Hikawa Seiji. However, he was manipulated by the WWW due to the abduction of his son..._** "

 

"Good morning!" Haruka greeted the yawning child, placing a full glass of water. "The water is back!"

"Thank god." Netto placed his PET on the side, eating his meal. "I miss this~"

"I'm so happy someone found his son. He's a classmate of yours, yes?" The mother wondered and Netto stared at the father and son hugging each other tightly.

" _ **Citizens of Electopia. We advise you to stay indoors and update your security system at all times...**_ "

 

"No... Section B." Netto looked back at his meal, eating.

"Ah~" Haruka sat back down, watching the news before standing up in shock. "Oh dear!"

"Hm?" Netto looked to see the SciLab area covered in yellow tape.

 

 _**"Police reports state that there is a serial killer on the loose. Do not go home alone. Stay in a group and always be alert...** _ _**"** _

  

"Mama?" Netto wondered why Haruka looked so worried.

"Maybe we should just go to Netopia?" The brunette suggested, covering his mouth. "No... That wouldn't be safe either. There are a lot of Gospel supporters there... Yumland?"

"Mama!" Netto snapped his mother back to her senses, telling her. "Everything will be fine. Nothing bad will happen to me."

 

 _ **"The way this is done..."**_ The investigator tipped his fedora down. _**"It's utterly inhumane.** **"**_

 

"Netto-kun is right, Mrs. Hikari." Rockman agreed. "Nothing bad will ever fall onto Netto-kun."

"If you say so..." Haruka didn't sit back down, leaning on the counter. "Promise me you won't stay out too late okay? If anything bad happens, you can always call me and your father."

"I will." Netto looked back at the news report, seeing an investigator hypothesizing that the killer is neither part of the infamous terrorist groups.

 

" _ **Due to the surge of Netcrimes, the government has decided to put up recruitment for anyone with a capable NetNavi. To sign up please...**_ " The reporter with a green frog hat explained before seeing a kid with black and white hair. _**"This just in! S-License Ijuuin Enzan has entered Electopia!"**_

 

"He's the guy who helped dad." Netto commented before drinking a glass of water.

"You received mail from Meiru-chan, Yaito-chan and Dekao-kun regarding the NetOp registration." Rockman ignored the news.

"Meh. Better than homework." Netto smiled when Rockman huffed. Rockman stated, "We will join after our homework!"

"Aw..." Netto feigned disappointment.

 

 _ **"What is this? It seems SciLab is hosting a tournament in support of Navi creativity and expert Netbattling!"**_ The reporter named Ribbita sounds closer to fangirling than reporting. _" **Winners obtain rare chips and get to fight Ijuuin Enzan's NetNavi Blues? Who would want to miss this?! Reporter Ribbita out. She's got to become a NetOp fast for this competition!** "_

 

"I'm starting to like her." Netto smiled at how the cameraman followed the woman rushing and plugging her device into the closest device connected to the internet. "She's dynamic."

"Homework Netto-kun." Rockman reminded, but he was checking the qualifications of the Navis.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't help it. Rockman X must be referenced or I will hate myself.
> 
> [Remember the Zero poster? YES!]


	5. Fame + Fortune

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yaito is rich, smart, beautiful and respected. Her parents are the best and she'll always be protected by her servants and sometimes her trusted friends so why is this happening to her of all people?
> 
> Oh well. She can survive this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Children and their games. :3
> 
> Pretty sure Yaito likes games since she's a rich kid. We also can't forget the Anime stating that her family is part of a gaming company. Pretty sure she is up on this type of thing. Make her gutsy and let's also add Tohru into the mix. Yeah!
> 
> [Side note: So she likes Enzan... when and where can I find this in the games and manga? It's just the anime... HMMMM]

"They say five minutes before the strike of midnight, you compose a message about a person who mistreated you." A female whispered to one of her friends. "Then you send it to the NET as cache data and restart your PC. You have to make sure it's anonymous and encrypted so X-san would grant your wish."

"Eh? What would X-san do with the information?" The student looked at her friend.

"Punish them~" She leaned back, smiling. "Isn't it scary?"

"Does it work though?" Another female tilted her head. The gossiper crossed her arms, "I don't know but that's the latest trend lately."

"Do you think X-san is the serial killer?" The one with black hair wondered. The gossiper grin. "I don't know but people say it works."

 

"Hmph!" Yaito packed her bag, walking away from her desk. 'Why am I even staying here when I have to meet my friends for the registration?'

"Yaito-sama?" Glyde watched his operator walk out from the room. "Are you worried, Yaito-sama?"

"Why should I? As if a rumor without any evidence would get to me!" Yaito walked passed the hallway, but she's secretly worrying about her parents. It's been a week since the water was restored and the N1 Grand Prix quickly covered the sudden downfall of one of the top PET creating Companies. What the media didn't tell (since the government censored it) was the fact every important personnel and member died in mysterious ways... Even the friends and relatives. The incident was also in Yumland so it wasn't well-documented here in Electopia.

'Whoever this killer is...' Yaito secretly pleaded. '...Please don't target my family!'

"Yaito-sama? The limousine has arrived." Glyde tells Yaito who placed her hand on the door.

"O-of course I knew that, Glyde." Yaito opened the door, walking out. Entering her car, Yaito tried to see if the serial killer's activity is close to X-san.

  

> Both killers become active in the strike of midnight, searching for their targets. For the serial killer, the method of choosing their targets is unknown. For X-san, it's a lottery where he merely has to grab hold of cache data.
> 
> All for sure, once they choose their targets, the killers _no matter what quantity_  will have their targets die starting two AM and ending around three AM. The bodies are discovered until much later.

 

"Glyde. Do you think Navis can kill people?" Yaito inquired, detailing further. "Real people such as humans."

"No... Unless the human is near a device that can be manipulated by a program." Glyde explained.

"..." Yaito leaned onto her chair, thinking to herself. She tries to remember what the investigator mentioned in an interview.

 

> All of the victims died due to fear and remorse.
> 
> Some committed suicide and wrote apologies using their last moments. Others had been stabbed, pushed, choked, suffocated, crushed and even beheaded. There was no force of entry. No window broken, but there were signs of struggle yet there was no prints or any foreign substance.
> 
> The sad part is that the Security footage got deleted. Not just the feeds, but the entire system has been wiped clean _from the security system all the way to the music player_.
> 
> Even when a hundred and thirty-eight victims got murdered, their Navis were left untouched. This is where the problem starts. None of the Navis could recall the perpetrator. Their memories have been erased except for one NetNavi.
> 
> All the broken Navi kept saying was...

 

" **Static.** " Yaito wondered if X-san is part of the Undernet. 'What purpose is this killer trying to prove if he isn't part of the WWW or Gospel?'

"He's surely conducting the murders with his Navi's help, Yaito-sama." Glyde commented and Yaito looked at Glyde.

"What made you say that?" Yaito watched her butler Navi close his eyes.

 

"I too have researched regarding the killings and whether or not X-san is involved." Glyde shows a series of reports and comments from the Undernet Board?!

"Glyde! You are amazing!" Yaito is impressed. Glyde continued, but he was smiling. "Apparently, several of the Undernet Navis received requests from an unknown sender named X to place bugs or viruses in specific areas for a certain amount of zeny. They did so, but they never thought it would lead to the destruction of an entire condominium."

"The condominium in Dentown!" Yaito can't believe this. So X-san and the serial killer are connected but that would mean...

 

_Nothing makes sense._

 

"The entire Netizens dubbed the anon as **X** due to how ambiguous his requests are. From placing a virus inside a water machine all the way to sending a hundred notes with the symbol α." Glyde shook his head. "It's not just the Undernet but every other board in each square. It explains how X-san came to be."

"Wait a second. (Yaito read the theory at the top result) As soon as all of X-san's requests are fulfilled, a group of people die?" Yaito can't believe that. ''Ridiculous!"

"The current question now would be why X-san's owner be doing this?" Glyde's voice softened. "In my opinion, I can't help but side with the theory of the Bottom dwellers. The killer is a loose cannon. His killings don't add up. The time spent and the connection between each of the killings don't make sense. X is also not working for money as stated by a Navi called Shadowman."

"So that's why it's so hard to catch the killer." Yaito is relieved this isn't a ghost, but now she's horrified by the fact anything electronic could kill her. No leads and all traps. "Glyde. What has my parents done to solved the problem?"

"They've removed any electronic device and systems connected and inside their bed area to ensure they would sleep peacefully without anyone being able to enter their rooms." Glyde confirmed. "I do not understand their reasoning as they were against the wishes of our security team."

"Well~ Since we have yet to know the identity of the serial killer, anyone could be the killer." When the door opened, Yaito stepped out of her car and walked into her mansion. "Any comment from SciLab?"

"About that..." [Yaito enters her elevator, watching her maid press the button to her room.] "The only area that didn't have their data deleted was in SciLab. According to the private investigator you hired, the serial killer's only clue left in SciLab was...."

 

**[Static.]**

**[I hear static.]**

**[Ț̷̡̋h̷͇̎e̸͝ͅ ̴̙̠̎p̷̨̰̒a̸͆͊͜ȉ̸̯n̶̗̓͘ ̴̪̌͛w̸͙̻̆̽o̷̡͆n̸͉̾͘'̶͚͂̂t̵̯̲̑͠ ̸̼̗̋̋g̶̙͇̔͠o̵͎̅͜ ̴̻̯̅̋á̴̗͝w̵̼͗͝ȧ̷͎̊y̴͖̎!̶͈̮͋͐]**

 

"Urgh!" Yaito shivered at the sentence. Something about it didn't sound right. It sounded like someone undergoing a lot of pain and it didn't help how static can refer to both Navi and human. Static is not a pleasant sound. 'It's even the same word the navi uttered. Static?'

"Plug in! Glyde.EXE!" Yaito inserted her cord to the port of her PC, preparing her chips for the licensure exam. She doesn't plan on winning the spectacular tournament since she finds the privileges of a NetOp appealing. Knowledge is something no one can get from you.

"Neh~ Glyde?" Yaito wondered as she inserted a M-Cannon. "What do you think did Meiru-chan got me for my birthday?"

"Yaito-sama? Didn't they recently come from a WWW incident while they were shopping for your present?" Glyde reminded and Yaito remembered hitting Meiru on the arm for making her worry.

 

> _"Netto-kun is dense." Rockman remarked, telling Glyde as Roll told him everything that happened._
> 
> _"I am aware of that." Glyde watched Netto glare at his general direction. "Is it true that the perpetrator is a WWW?"_
> 
> _"Yes. I remember it calling itself Colorman?" Roll clung to Rockman's arm. "But Rockman saved me!"_
> 
> _"It's what friends do, Roll-chan." Rockman smiled. Yaito listened to all of it, including what Meiru said._
> 
> _"Next time, you should tell me so we can use my pink limousine!" Yaito declared and Meiru shook her head quickly. "No no no! Then you'll know what gift we'll give you!"_
> 
> _"I don't care! My friends deserve the best service!" Yaito crossed her arms._

 

"I remember." Yaito inserts another M-Cannon, watching her Navi reach Akihabara square. "I wish my birthday came sooner."

"Where is Rockman and Gutsman?" Glyde wondered and Roll sighed.

"Netbattling maybe?" Roll guessed, scratching the side of her forehead. "We even agreed on the time and everything~"

"Meiru-chan? Do you plan on joining the N1 Grand Prix?" Yaito asked her friend. Meiru laughed softly. "I do... I don't really want the battle chips, but I saw a two-person all expense ticket inside the Queen Bohemian Cruiser."

"If you want, I can buy that for you and you can bring Netto along?" Yaito grinned as Meiru blushed profusely.

"W-what are you talking about? I wasn't planning on inviting Netto or anything!" Meiru went off-screen. "Why are you joining? Is it because of Enzan?"

"No way! Why would I like a brat like him." Yaito doesn't understand how her friend could pair her with a rival this way. 'Unbelievable.'

 

"Gutsman has arrived!" Gutsman entered with Rockman behind him, both looked a bit tired.

"What seems to be the problem?" Glyde wondered and Rockman heaved. "Did anyone of you have your paths blocked by ice?"

"No." Both Roll and Glyde shook their heads, but they did notice the strange formations around the Net.

"I had to break the ice for Rockman, Guts." Gutsman chuckled as Rockman pouted.

"Sorry I don't have the muscle." Rockman crossed his arms.

"It was white ice, guts." Gutsman taunted and Rockman threw his arms in the air.

"Okay! Maybe I am weak. Happy?" Rockman proceeded to sulk.

 

"Don't worry, Rockman. I'm sure the Muscle program would work for you..." Glyde stared at Rockman. "Hm... Maybe you shouldn't. It wouldn't suit you." 

"It's okay, Rock! I'm sure the Official NetOps will handle the problem." Roll then walked towards the examiner. "Thankfully, me and Glyde already registered your names in the list. Please talk to the Navi to begin the mission."

"Race you!" Dekao challenged Netto who turned serious.

"You're on!" Netto roared and both females looked up in desperation. Both even said at the exact same time. "Boys."

"Let's meet up after we obtained our Z-License." Roll requested and the Navis went to their respective section.

 

* * *

  

"Glyde?" Rockman questioned her navi, seeing that Gutsman and Roll decided to read the board.

"Yes, Rockman?" Glyde looked at the smaller Navi.

"Who is this Blues and why does everyone fear him?" Rockman placed both hands behind his back, frowning.

"He's merciless and even rumored to terminate an entire syndicate without the help of his owner." Glyde explained and Rockman perked up.

"Without an owner? How?" Rockman was taken aback. Gylde smiled, speaking once more. "I don't understand why you would not know Blues' feats but I will tell you since we may encounter him during the tournament."

"We will begin with his operator, Ijuuin Enzan. He is the Vice President of IPC, a rival family of the Ayanokoji in the business world. He may be the same age as Netto-san, but he is already at the end of Junior High." Glyde continued. "He is intelligent and dedicated to Netbattling, training with his Navi non-stop. I do not know the specific hours but it is rumored to be at least 10 hours a day."

 

"10 hours training, 6 hours of school...?! This person isn't having the recommended hours of sleep!" Rockman gasped and Glyde squinted at the Navi.

"Is that all you're worried about?" Glyde can't believe it when Rockman nodded.

"Yes. I know being hardworking is a good trait but skipping sleep is bad for him." Rockman shook his head in dismay. "Since he's the Vice-President of a PET company, I know for a fact that his father would be training his child to do paperwork and head over to project sites to foresee development. That would most likely take 2 to 3 hours at best! The healthy dosage for teenagers would be around 9 hours and Enzan won't be able to afford such a necessity because of work!"

"Shouldn't you be amazed at the fact he trained 10 hours a day?" Glyde wants to bring the topic back to what's important.

"True. Training 10 hours would improve sync and communication between Navi and Operator but if the viruses are too bland then the training would be useless." Rockman rambled. "That could only mean Enzan and Blues trained in Netopia or the Undernet as the area is littered with mutations caused by the scientists and hackers in the area."

"Electopia isn't a bad place to train." Glyde defended. "Do you remember the incident occurring in Okuden Valley?"

"No. That's due to the migration of WWW created devices into the area." Rockman hummed. "I hear Blues was in the area when the event occurred. Isn't that the reason we won't take a vacation trip there?"

 

"We can always go to Creamland or Sharo?" Glyde offered. "Dekao-san wouldn't like to visit Netopia unless his parents leave the area."

"Right... Oyama clan controls most of the land properties here. Are they a political or an economic figure?" Rockman looked up in wonder.

"Mostly political, considering the clients they owe." Glyde noticed Roll and Gutsman exit the area. "Have you found anything?"

"None. Most of them are talking about the recent killings." Roll heaved. "If only they can focus on what's in front of them."

"Don't worry Roll-chan! Gutsman will punch ice for you!" Gutsman placed his fist on his hand.

"Sorry everyone. Netto-kun has to go to SciLab on 7 PM for a party." Rockman clapped both hands together, bowing down sadly. "But do not worry! We will ask the Doctor regarding the Ice incident."

"Perks to having a scientist father. Nice going Netto!" Dekao raised a thumbs up and Netto laughed.

"Yeah... Gotta go. Thanks guys." Netto bid and Rockman was plugged out.

 

"I'm happy for him." Yaito commented once the blue navi left. "He's happier now. Less bruises."

"I know right? That's because-" Dekao paused halfway. Meiru frowned, "What's wrong Dekao?"

"Hey Meiru-chan? Do you think... Netto..." Dekao turned silent but when he spoke. "Did Netto summon X-san?!"

"Eh? No way." Meiru denied. "I know him longer than anyone in this town! Netto would never wish for anyone to get hurt."

"..." Yaito feels something is up. Dekao has a point. The first set of victims are all tied to their school before spreading outside.

 

_Static..._

  

"Everyone. Let's get back to our PETs. We have homework remember?" Roll broke the silence, looking at the serious operators.

"Y-you're right. Wait. What about Netto's homework?!" Meiru exclaimed. "Exam week is even right around the corner!"

"He'll live." Yaito comforted and Dekao laughed. "Yeah. If I can't pass, Netto won't either!"

"That isn't comforting~!" Meiru whined. The three laughed and plugged out to do their work.

 

_Is static monotony?_

 

* * *

 

"Yaito-chan? What are you doing here?" Netto blinked, surprised to see his classmate.

"It's Yaito-sama to you, Netto." Yaito wished she didn't have to explain but Netto is the only person she knows in this joint. She sure as hell won't talk to that arrogant brat of IPC. "My family was also invited and my parents wished me to come and see what the grown-ups are doing."

"We meet again, Glyde." Rockman greeted, standing alone at the screen network from the rest of the Navis.

"How is your time here?" Glyde asked. Rockman's gaze darkened, " _Swell_."

"You don't look fine." Glyde has a sweat drop. Rockman closed his eyes, smiling. "Netto-kun is having a wonderful time except he encountered Enzan."

 

"Arrogant?" Yaito asked. Netto nodded, giving a disapproving look. "Cocky is the right term."

"The best way to expand your vocabulary." Yaito smiled and Netto laughed. "Don't worry Yaito-chan. You can do better than him."

"Of course! As the sole heir of the Ayanokoji family, I must be the best." Yaito smiled.

"You keep being you." Netto plugged Rockman out, waving his hand. "I'll go to the restroom first. I need to prepare for the grand dinner."

"Seriously? Don't act like a pig when you're there or I'll disown you as a friend" Yaito made a tsking sound and Netto looked back. "Hey! You should try the food before judging me."

'What is he talking about? Their food is obviously of a lower quality than what is served in my mansion!' Yaito frowned until she spotted the recently rescued-from-abduction Tohru.

 

"Tohru-kun!" Yaito went forward to greet him. "How are you and your father?"

"Yaito-sama correct?" Aware of her status, Tohru held onto his punch offered by his father's colleague. "I'm doing fine. All thanks to the Mysterious Navi."

"Mysterious navi?" Yaito frowned. "I thought you were saved by a bystander?"

"The media reported that, but I keep telling them that it was a Navi." Tohru frowned. "I remember the color blue but maybe I was imagining things."

'A blue navi...' A vague description. There are a lot of blue navis wandering the area. It could have been anyone.

"So you weren't blindfolded?" Yaito is interested on the case. She loves mysteries.

"No. I was famished and kept tied at the backseat of the car." Tohru looked down at his PET with his Navi Iceman. "Until I saw a blue navi on the screen. I'm pretty sure it was the color blue but that's all I can remember since the Navi vanished and sent an SOS signal."

"Hm~" Yaito tapped her foot. "Do you think he's a part of the secret Virus busting team?"

"The one with Commander Beef? Maybe." Tohru doesn't look convinced though. "But if the Navi was then why didn't his Operator come to the car? They don't mind physical touch right?"

 

*Flick!

 

"The event is starting." Tohru hushed and both individuals rushed to their designated seats.

"Everyone! Thank you for waiting!" The host smiles, standing beside the state-of-the-art recycled PETs. "We'd like to welcome our speaker for the evening."

"I hear he's a foreign scientist." A chef whispered. "But never heard or seen of him."

"Me too." The other personnel murmured. "Must be something about electricity I bet. He's holding bulbs for crying out loud."

 

"Give a round of applause to... Count Zap." The host moved back, clapping her hands and everyone followed suit.

 

"Ladies and gentlemen! Thank you for coming here this evening." The blonde grinned, standing at the center of the stage. "To our... WWW Party of Death!!"

"What?" A lot of the guests rose from their seats, some startled while others already pulling out their phones and PETs.

"We'd like you to know that the WWW has just taken over the underground power plant! So let's get the party started with a little...." The man's grin widened further. "No. A really big blackout!! Elecman! Zap to it!"

 

*Zrrrt!

 

"!!!!" The lights broke. Everyone started screaming and pushing against each other except for a certain few. Yaito remained on her seat, asking Tohru. "Did you bring your power bank with you?"

"N-no." Tohru shook his head, using his PET to see from the dark. "How long will the Police get here?"

"Now now!" Count Zap's voice could be heard through the speakers. "Relax and enjoy your last breaths! Ahahahahahaahah!"

"Soon. Around an hour?" Yaito stood up. "Okay. Let's do something to restore the ventilation system. Apparently, the air vents and generator are interconnected to the power plant."

 

"I don't think this is a good idea." Tohru advised, but he went along with his new and profound friend.

"Given how there are so many people hyperventilating, we'll run out of air before the police gets here. Let's go!" Yaito searched around the room, pushing against the people. "Where's Netto? Ah never mind. We can still do this."

"Yaito-sama. I highly suggest leaving this to the authorities." Glyde pleaded but Yaito didn't care.

"So the Power plant is downstairs but the managers thought stairs were old fashioned." Yaito exited the room, seeing less people in the corridors. "We'll need to use the laundry chute."

"Why do they have a laundry chute?" Tohru really wants to know as he helps the child go up the vent.

"Don't ask!" Yaito went sliding down, coming out and standing to dust her dress. Tohru followed suit, landing on his butt.

 

"Yaito-sama..? (Netto can't get used to it.) Tohru-kun?" Netto stared at the other kid. "How are you here?"

"We should be asking the same question to you." Yaito looked around the area. "Status report."

"What am I, your servant?" Netto turned away, walking towards the open door. "Control room is down. We're screwed."

"All because of energy?" Yaito groaned as they entered the area where a couple of scientists talked.

"We can use my power bank to charge one PC." Yaito offered, bringing out her company's latest product.

"As expected of the Ayanokoji family." Tohru is amazed. Netto nodded, "But only two Navis can enter."

"I didn't bring my battlechips so you two go on ahead." Yaito handed the power bank to Tohru who plugs the the cord onto the PC.

 

_Or is Monotony caused by static?_

 

"Let's do this." Netto pulled out his cord until a scientist yelled from the other side.

"Wait! What do you plan on doing?!" The scientist came to them, accompanied with a worker. "Do you want to delete your Navi? Plugging in now is suicide! If the power's out, it's out on the Net, too! Don't you know that the PET uses more energy to create back-up memory of your Navi's latest actions? Without power, your PET's battery will run out faster and once it's fully drained, you lose connection to your Navi."

"You won't be able to plug out when that happens." The other scientist agreed with his colleague. "Would you still risk it?"

"Let's go, Netto-kun." Rockman requested. Netto stared at Rockman is surprise.

"What? B-but, you might get deleted and I won't even know it." Netto worried but Rockman smiled. "It will be fine Netto-kun. If we don't do this then everyone might die. I trust your skills as an operator so we should do it!"

"Don't worry, Tohru-kun. I'll be careful there and accompany Rock." Iceman reassured the worried brunet.

"We can still plug out as long as our PET has energy right?" Tohru asked the scientist.

"And the PC is still active. Yes." The scientist watched both operators plugged in immediately.

 

"We have an hour." Yaito checked her power bank status. "Good luck."

 

* * *

 

 

_I don't know but I'm sure it's nothing._

 

"High security." Rockman commented as he plugged in with Iceman. Iceman stared at Rockman thoughtfully. Rockman looked down, "Yes?"

"Blue." Iceman looked at Tohru who said. "We'll worry about that later, Iceman. Let's go."

"Be careful with the enemies. You are an ice element navi, after all." Rockman trudged the area, followed by wood tower chips sent by his operator.

"We know that." Iceman followed, sending a copy of the first platform of the first layer of the power generator's system would be to his friend.

"You can't see it, but there is a road..." A green program hinted as Rockman and Iceman separated ways to obtain the items. The program screamed. "There are many other invisible roads like this up ahead! GET THE BATTERIES FROM THE BATTERY KEEPERS!!!"

 

"I hate how slow the charging time these wood chips have." Netto mumbled, silently thanking Tohru. "Tohru-kun. You're a lifesaver."

"Only for the first part." Tohru laughed weakly. Netto looked back at his PET, seeing Rockman and Iceman enter the second floor. "Still something. Give yourself some credit."

"So that's what we use the batteries on..." Rockman commented, spending fifteen minutes with Iceman to search blindly for batteries. Both Navis agreed that the security system of this area is nuts, having its paths created by light.

"Hm..." Both Navis held the batteries in their arms as they slowly look at the program in charge. Iceman can only carry one batteries while Rockman can carry two batteries.

"Why are the battery programs huger than the first floor?" Iceman complained, having difficulty carrying his battery.

"Because they will light the bulbs to show you the way~" The program sang. "If your batteries run down, bring them back here. I can recharge them."

"I'm starting to miss the first program." Rockman sighed, placing the battery to a random port. "Okay. Let's start guessing."

 

Two minutes in...

 

"We have thirty minutes and counting." Yaito reminded as the duo reached the third and last floor.

"No..." Iceman stared at the numerous bulbs and holes for certain batteries.

"More batteries. I suggest we split up. We don't have much time if we go together." Rockman turned right and faced a corrupted program right off the bat.

"I...I'm not...altered..." The program was glitching and dark for some reason. Iceman went towards Rockman area, calling out. "Rockman! Look out!"

"?" Rockman didn't move, surprised to see the program hover close.

"Bamboo sword!" Iceman dashed forward and sliced the program in half. He turns towards Rockman, "You okay?"

"...Yes. Thank you." Rockman agreed. "That won't happen again. Promise."

"Did you see programs like that Rockman?" Netto wondered as Rockman walked on the invisible platforms.

"You can say that." Rockman said in a distracted manner.

 

"Intruder alert! Intruder alert!"

"Not another one." Iceman frowned, choosing a different area from Rockman. "Tohru-kun!"

"Don't worry. Tornado! Wood bomb! Slotted in!" Tohru inserted two battle chips, giving Iceman a huge entity behind him that blows winds to push the enemy and a bomb.

"Thank you, Tohru-kun." Iceman threw the grenade, watching the program die from a huge wood spike.

"There are a lot of infected programs." Tohru commented. "What is Count Zap up to?"

"Steal something I bet." Yaito crossed her arms. "Why else would he target SciLab? WWW doesn't need any more lime light nor does it require funds."

 

~~_**I hear static?** _ ~~

 

"I would have love to do this, but we have a time limit." Netto watched Rockman tap the floors before walking forward with three batteries in hand.

"..." In this state, Rockman can't even fight. In fact, he even tripped.

"Why can't we compress them? Yes. That would make me happy." Rockman pushed himself up. Good thing there were no viruses or pitfalls. Rockman immediately scrambled to grab the batteries, frowning. "I really wish I were Gutsman right now."

"See? I told you you should've been bigger." Netto brought back the old topic. Iceman laughed, walking towards Rockman. "Rockman! Tohru-kun and I figured it out. We just need your batteries."

"?" Rockman lets Iceman take the two batteries and watched the bulbs lit up. They walk forward to see another quest relating to batteries.

 

"You'll need to think hard before setting a battery." The final program stated and both Navis simply glared at it. "Battery A, B and C were under my control until several of my friends took it from me."

"I... Let's just go." Rockman walked to the right. "Hunt those programs and beat the boss."

"Yes. We don't have much time left." Iceman took the left path, searching for the invisible path before walking forward.

"D-delete me..." A corrupted program begged and Iceman felt remorseful killing the victim.

"Iceman. Hurry! We have ten minutes left." Tohru rushed since everyone knows a WWW Supporter or member will have to be fought just to restore order.

"Sorry!" Iceman said to both Tohru and the program, deleting it and grabbing the battery.

 

*Flick!

 

"The door to the power room should be open now." Rockman and Iceman inserted the batteries in the correct places within two minutes. Sad how the program forgot the hints to the battery placement. They could have saved more time.

"Ok!" Netto looked to see the scientists and Yaito walked to the next room.

"Generator's working but someone is controlling it." The scientist yelled from the other room.

"We should check the program itself.." Rockman walked forward, surprised to see the barrier placed is cracked.

"Someone's been here." Iceman watched Rockman push it slowly for it to vanish.

"Security and personnel programs." Rockman remarked, walking inside with his friend, as he stared at the destroyed and deleted remnants of fellow Navis.

 

~~_**Why do I hear static?** _ ~~

 

"Who...R... U?" An unknown elec-based Netnavi turned to their direction, crimson eyes glowing. "A Netbattler?"

"We only have five minutes..." Tohru tried to find a solution. There was none. It's either they plug out and save their Navis but risk suffocation or they get disconnected from their Navis and hope for the best.

"Tohru-kun. You have to plug Iceman out." Netto warned. "You're in a huge disadvantage against him."

"But you and Rockman will be in a disadvantage. This is a WWW Navi, Netto-kun." Tohru argued.

"Have fate in me and Rockman." Netto started inserted random battle chips. "If I install all these chips before the energy runs out, Rockman can still receive them. You can do it to, but five to seven strikes from the Navi and Iceman might get deleted."

"You are not here to protect the electricity program?" The Navi blinked. "... No matter. All who stand in my way get... Zapped!!"

 

"Ack!" Iceman barely dodged the lightly strike. Rockman also moved, but his eyes were on the ground.

"!" Looking up after he touched the floor, Rockman dashed forward as soon as he used a Tornado and wood tower simultaneously.

"Impossible." Rockman jumped back and down a column to avoid the beam of electricity. "He's healing."

'One minute.' Tohru is freaking out because if the PC shuts down and then their PETs then he wouldn't know what would happen to Iceman.

"I won't call you out for retreating." Rockman said as he placed a rock cube just in time before Elecman let out a ray of electricity from his finger tips. "Go."

 

"Plug out. Iceman." Tohru watched Iceman leave the screen and the PC shuts down exactly as he expected it to be. Tohru looks at Netto still staring at his PET. "Netto-kun."

"Three minutes of energy." Netto waved his PET. "I can't place chips though. I can only watch."

"You are an idiot!" Yaito hits Netto's leg. "What sense would being a hero be?"

"Nothing-" Netto suddenly received a Eureka moment. "Wait! What if it's the generator that's causing Elecman to be invincible?! Can someone help me remove the plug?"

"No. You could die from that." The scientist shook his head. "The Amperage is over 2000mA. That's crazy!"

"What do we do then?" Netto shouted at the scientist who retorted a very impossible demand.

 

"Delete him in one go."

 

"Netto-kun? Your orders?" Rockman broke the silence as if he can still hear them.

"Rockman... If you can hear me..." Netto gulped. "Battle Operation, set!"

 

" **E̷̳̔ẍ̷͍́̊ẽ̸̹̗c̷̢̙̅͠u̴̞̼̔t̷̘̐e̴̬̓.̸͉̖̚** "

 

As soon as Rockman said that, he brought out his right arm which obtained a yellow shield. It deflected the attack from the enemy and Rockman's entire form changed from blue to green. Mouth covered, Rockman was even enveloped with a barrier.

"Woodshield." Rockman took a deep breath, right arm somewhat shaking.

'He's hurt?' Yaito thought, standing on the chair to watch the PET together with Tohru. 'Why would an upgrade hurt a Navi?'

"You?!" Elecman summoned out his blade, annoyed.

"Bamboo sword!" Rockman created a sword on his left hand, grabbing it instead of equipping it.

 

~~**Why does my body hurt?** ~~

 

"!!!" Not just the three children, but even the scientist watched how Rockman did a feint before swerving to the side and slicing the Tesla coils. Rockman didn't stop there, rushing behind the Navi as he grabbed onto the pixellating tesla coil and-

 

*BBBZZTT!

 

"No!" Netto watched his PET shut down. One of the scientists raised his hands. "Ok. Hikari-hakase has my respect now."

"I agree." The other scientist went out of the room. "I'll go check on the occupants. You kids should go to your parents if ever."

"They aren't around." Both Yaito and Tohru stated and Netto sat down instead, still staring at his PET with the cord still inserted in the PC.

"Rockman..." Netto frowned.

 

* * *

 

"This..." Elecman fell to the ground, impaled by his Tesla coil and a bamboo sword from behind. It was too fast. The power level exceeded his expectations. "This can't be... happening!"

"Too late?" Rockman stepped on the Navi's back, causing the Navi to scream.

"H-ha... I've already sent the program... N-now... we have all the programs... Y-you're..." Elecman screamed again as Rockman forced a wood bomb on his back. A wooden spike holds him in place. Pixels and fragments leave his body. 

"W-why can't I...?" Elecman struggled but he couldn't move. Rockman stepped in front of the server. Elecman cursed. "Zap-sama?"

"He can't help you." Rockman commented. "Not until I'm done with you. You noticed it, didn't you? When I style changed, I disconnected you from your PET. Your operator must be panicking right now..."

"W-what are you?!" Elecman forced himself to stare at the back of the green Navi.

"You don't need to know. You won't get to remember." Rockman shuts down the useless plug-in protection function. "It seems the NetOps were trying to plug in. Most of your injuries are healed except for the spike. That's because of the generator. I remember watching a vampire movie where the protagonist decides to imprison the vampire in a dark cave. The seal is a spike."

 

"A-are you r-really not a Netbattler?!" Elecman has never seen such an enemy before.

"Z-License." Rockman sets his coordinates, preparing to head back to the PET. "I'm leaving. The cops will have two seconds with you before you can plug-?"

"Tsk." An unknown crimson navi entered the field, scanning the area. "Why couldn't they disable their own security protocols? Hm? Who are you?"

"..." Rockman already plugged out before Blues could see the front.

 

"Wait!" Elecman called out and Blues rushed in to grab hold of him. He's stunned from the spore. 'Zap-sama! Forgive me!'

"Enzan-sama. Elecman cannot be killed due to the generator." Blues reported, stabbing Elecman which only did nothing but give pain to the receiver.

"Get the code, Blues." Enzan ordered, holding his PET and checking the last photos of the mysterious Navi. 'Nothing I've seen before.'

"Understood." Blues proceeded to hack Elecman, ignoring his screams.

 

'You!' Unfortunately, two seconds was over and Elecman was able to push away and plug out. "..."

"How much did you get?" Enzan inquired and Blues sighed. "Sixty percent."

"Let's report this to the Commissioner." Enzan plugged Blues out. Enzan began walking out of the crime scene, hearing Count Zap scream propaganda. The image of the green navi is still in his mind. 'A strong opponent?'

 

* * *

 

_**Even if there is static, I feel warm when I'm with you.** _

 

"Rockman performed a Style change?!" Yuuichirou actually screamed as both Netto and Haruka entered the limousine Yaito insisted they enter or she'll order her servants to manhandle them.

"Yeah. How did Rockman do that anyways? Must be because of the program in your office." Netto sat beside Tohru. Yaito was at the front, already fallen asleep.

"At least both of you are safe. Tohru-kun? Would you like to stay over in our house? We have an extra room~" Haruka offered, giving that warm motherly smile of hers. Tohru bows his head. "No thank you Mrs. Hikari. I'm sure my father is worried sick about me. I have to visit him."

"But I..." Yuuichirou frowned, staring back at the tired Navi. 'To style change, I need the program Chng.BAT which can only be found in Yumland...'

 

_This isn't nothing._

 

"You are so amazing, Rockman." Iceman cheered as Glyde massaged Rockman's shoulder. "I wonder if you can shift to other styles? I hear there are five elements."

"Hn..." Rockman is utterly drained, eyes partially closed and simply wishing to fall asleep.

"Right. Here's my link in case you want to visit us." Iceman placed small fragments of datum beside Rockman and Glyde. "Since Tohru-kun sees your operators as friends then we should be friends too."

"Yaito-sama and Netto-san will surely introduce him to the others." Glyde supported.

 

_**It's getting darker...** _

 

"..." Rockman breathes through his mouth, unable to focus. Unstable. His data has to stabilize but Rockman can't let them know. He closed his eyes.

 

_**[The pain is coming back]** _


	6. Alone vs Together

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> YES! Favorite character will summarize every screwed up event in the entire story. Combining MBN1 and MBN2 is hard. I also shouldn't forget the chip challenge and transmission. Also MBN3....
> 
> Wait. No! Dr. Regal is also his own person. Mother of bleep. I hope it fits 18 chapters. XD

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enzan's life is really really hectic. Worst year for the guy. He also has school work so you can imagine.

"Nothing makes sense!" Enzan slammed his hands onto the table, glaring at the reports of fellow Netbattlers and even the government officials he's connected to. This week hasn't been kind to him.

 

> He nearly got killed in Netopia if not for his military comrade Raika aiding him during the trials. It was during his interrogation with Princess Pride that Enzan understood the intent of the organization Gospel. [Gospel wanting to create the **IDEAL NAVI** that will rule(?) the net non-sense.]  _This was shortly accompanied with the introduction of Cutman in the area of Yumland which Blues deleted._
> 
> While he was off to handle some business transactions, Enzan received word regarding a brain washing incident within the schools as well as a series of irregular traffic in his homeland. The worse news was the fact one of the top five Companies of the PET industry collapsed mysteriously, having a serial killer committing genocide and leaving not a trace in the area except for the mourning Netnavis.
> 
> Due to his father's wishes and the state of Electopia, Enzan flew back and somehow a WWW operator hijacked his plane. He quickly defeated the man and learned WWW also nearing its completion in its grand ENDGAME plans. As soon as the plane reached the ground, Enzan had to fill in the paperwork and learned of the water shortage during his conversation with Dr. Hikari. He entered the scene, only for the enemy to give up and offer him a WWW code.  _Enzan has yet to decipher it._ It took only a matter of hours before he received word of a bomb threat in Okuden Valley which he rode a police car in. Arriving just in time, Enzan found the culprit after he ordered Blues to delete Quickman. The owner has yet to confess, but he dictates that he is from the group Gospel. Soon after he quelled the bomb threat, Enzan received word of a nearby zoo causing mass hysteria. This time, the entity causing such panic was from the WWW. [Both suspects have yet to confess.]
> 
> Currently, Gospel is the reason for the ice fragments forming in the net, affecting the weather system. Meanwhile, WWW is laying low as gathered from the data collected from Elecman. According to SciLab, Dr. Wily plans on recreating the **LIFE VIRUS** and revive another unknown project. When they uttered _recreate_ , Enzan assumes there is another Life Virus but somewhere in the Undernet. *sigh* ~~That's where all dangerous and illegal substances and data go to.~~

 

"..." Enzan bowed his head. It also wasn't helpful how the mastermind of the school incident, Rei Saiko, changed his mind in his declaration upon seeing the records. [He said it was caused by an ex-SciLab researcher which was troublesome..] There are smaller incidents such as pandemic machine malfunctions (a cleaning machine of all places!) and even attacks within public facilities. He's tired, but that shouldn't stop him. He can't show weakness. He has three priorities thus far. 'WWW. Gospel. X.'

"Enzan-sama.. The netizens may be correct in deducing X not being affiliated to anyone." His navi explained, sorting the paperwork and meetings for the incoming days.

"That makes him even more lethal..." The albino cursed. "Of all the times X could strike, it had to be on the same time as WWW and Gospel."

'At least we know the WWW server is somewhere within the Undernet and the mastermind resides in Electopia.' Enzan grabbed his pen and started writing his paperwork. 'Sources also state that the main quarters of Gospel is also located in the country. What a problem.'

"Enzan-sama. It seems your father registered you to enter the N1 Grand Prix." Blues checked the website. "We cannot decline it."

"Add it to my schedule." Enzan stood up, needing his coffee. He couldn't sleep even if he wanted to, always called by the authorities and his company for duties expected of him. He's also feeling like a bag of blank battle chips, asking for aid to his fellow Netbattlers abroad. Him. of all people.

 

> "You believe Nebula is collaborating with the WWW?" Enzan frowned, attending the conference in Nation Z before heading to Netopia.
> 
> "Yes. The proliferation of the Dark chips have increased with most of its producers being ex-members of the WWW." Baryl nodded, leading Enzan out of the facility. "It's not helpful how we have no leads on the true mastermind. There are too many suspects, but the most probable would lead to controversy."
> 
> "It's due to the timing and secrecy, correct?" Enzan remembers reading the reports from the Interpol. "You believe the perpetrator to be a part of the government."
> 
> "Exactly. The Dark chip factories are well-equipped and funded by state taxes. One of which led to a revolt against Sharo's government... I wonder how Raika is taking all this?" Baryl mused, opening the door. "You may see the Lieutenant in Netopia."
> 
> "We still have to search for the mysterious serial killer X." Enzan muttered under his breath, entering the car with Baryl.
> 
> *Click.
> 
> "About that, I receive word that the suspect resides in Electopia." Baryl closed the door behind him, ordering the taxi to bring them to the airport. "The mass suicide in Choina caused the government to finally cooperate with the authorities."
> 
> "Knew they had the capabilities... " Enzan looked up at the elder. "What have they discovered?"
> 
> "The killer is digital, utilizing frequencies to reset electronic devices and isolating its captives." Baryl grimaced, "Are you sure you don't need help on this, Enzan?"
> 
> "..." Enzan turned silent. For once in his life, Enzan knew he couldn't reject this proposal. With two criminal terrorist organizations in the same area, the albino could not assure the safety of his people. Enzan muttered, begrudging. "If it isn't a bother...Hey!"
> 
> "You should take a break. You're still growing, kid." Baryl ruffled his head, earning a smack on the arm. "Don't worry. The WWW is also in my hitlist. The mastermind may even know each other in a personal level."
> 
> "I am not a kid!" Enzan growled. He swore he heard a laugh from the elder, even commenting. "Enzan. You really need to take a break after all this. Am I clear?"

 

'What does that man think he is?' Enzan thought, annoyed. 'Break? That's a show of weakness.'

"Enzan-sama. Maybe you should take a fifteen minute nap?" Blues suggested but Enzan shook his head.

"I'll be fine Blues-" Enzan turned at the sound of an urgent call.

 

**"All Netbattlers! Please come to the Marine harbor immediately! Gospel is attacking the Mother Computer."**

 

"Call the driver. Three minutes." Enzan told his navi, unplugging Blues from the charger and rushing towards the elevator.

"Understood." Blues vanished, manipulating the elevator and doors for Enzan to pass through.

'As long as they don't work together.' Enzan thought, entering the elevator and checking his PET to see Blues inside. "What's the description of the perpetrator?"

" **A ninja navi I think?** "It was a scientist who responded, sounding panicked. " **Hurry, Ijuuin-san! We don't know what Gospel plans on doing to the server!** "

"I'm on it." Enzan ran out, entering the car. The driver sped off, not obeying the speed limit just to reach to the area.

 

**The world is dark.**

 

"If I didn't know any better, they're working in tandem." Enzan checked the Netbattlers online. There were around a handful of them inside the area, one of which would a civilian? Sapphire eyes narrowed, 'Why would there be a civilian awake at this hour?'

"Blues. Who is the civilian in the scene?" Enzan inquired and Blues answered. "A B-licensed Civilian Netbattler by the name of Hikari Netto. His netnavi is named Rockman.EXE."

"Dr. Hikari's son." Enzan has a grasp how this unfortunate netbattler came to be. 'But that still doesn't explain the fact he's awake.'

"We will be arriving to our destination in 20 minutes. Enzan-sama. May I propose you take a nap by this time?" Blues requested, already bothered with the worn state of his partner. "I will wake you up at exactly 15 minutes please."

"Very well..." Enzan finally gave in. It's been a total of one year since WWW began its reign of terror, Gospel followed suit after six months. He also can't forget the fact there are smaller syndicates also utilizing the mayhem to their advantage. He hasn't been getting the proper sleep..

"Rest well. Enzan-sama." Blues watched Enzan fall asleep, frown deepening. The navi begins his monthly defragmentation and maintenance procedure. The amount of data and areas visited would override him if the swordsman didn't. Non-stop battling and travel, the Netnavi wondered if he was as efficient as Enzan claims him to be. If he were efficient then he should have finished the missions ahead of time. He should have learned to transact with human entities in his operator's place. 'Enzan-sama might need to have a check-up with his physician soon.'

 

* * *

 

When Enzan woke up with the vibration of his PET, the vice president of IPC opted to get out of the car and made a mad dash to the Marine Harbor. It seems everyone but three Netnavis are still functioning, one of which would be the civilian Navi.

"Plug in! Blues.EXE! Transmission!" Enzan somehow knew the entire team of SciLab would fail, even expecting Mr. Eguchi to fail.

"Enzan!" The civilian greeted, surprised to see him. Enzan ignored the brat, readying his chips for the netbattle.

"What took you so long, Hikari?" Enzan watched Blues answer the codes quickly and even sliced through several of the barriers. "Too weak?"

"NO!" Netto fumed while Rockman replied. "Maybe?"

"Rockman!" Netto yelled at his PET and Rockman shrugged, running after Blues. "What? We really had no clue on the words. The clues were disabled and they're all college questions."

"You don't tell them that." Netto sighed and Enzan smirked, remaining calm. 'No. Don't laugh. That's immature of you.'

"I see that!" Netto is also very chatty. Enzan needs to focus on the bad parts of this civilian. Loud. Immature. Reckless.

 

"Wait! Blues! I can't catch up!" Rockman called out but Blues had to keep going. He can't wait for Rockman. Besides, if he's right on his assumption then this Navi is what Cutman was referring to. Blues activates his blade, rushing towards the enemy.

"Blues." The ninja greeted as he turned and deflected the blade with his muramasa. "How was your flight?"

"Shadowman." Blues greeted before leaping back away from the hidden kunai throw.

"W-wait..." Rockman arrived, hands on his knees as he panted.

"Your friend has arrived..." Shadowman stared at the tired navi. He made a chuckled sound and Blues ordered. "Rockman. Don't get in my way. He's my kill."

"B-but..." Rockman finally stood up straight, hands clenched together. "I can provide assistance!"

"Either one of you is fine by me." Shadowman summoned pairs of enormous shurikens from nowhere. "Hurry up and fight or I'll take on both of you... Unless you're afraid? Haha..."

 

"Keep talking." Blues prepare to use his shield, readying to dash. "Enzan-sama."

"Hikari. If you really want to be useful then search the main system." Enzan ordered the child who gawked at him.

"Why do I have to take instructions from you? You just came here!" Netto pointed his finger.

'I'm tired of his BS.' Enzan rolled his eyes. "The marine harbor is part of the police agency where A-license and above Netbattlers have their meetings. Of course I know what must be done. Now get going!"

 

"I think Enzan is right, Netto-kun. We have to protect the Mother System." Rockman urged, staring back at Shadowman.

"Fine.." Netto groaned. Rockman looked at Blues. "Don't die, Blues. You still have to join the N1 Grand Prix remember?"

"Don't remind me." Blues felt the Netnavi vanish.

"Have I met him before?" Shadowman wondered to himself and Blues dashed forward to give a horizontal cut. The ninja deflected it with his blade, looking down at Blues. "Not even in your optimal condition."

"This is more than enough to end you." Blues kept trying to aim for the crest, aware of the effects of Muramasa.

 

**Getting stronger with each injury sustained**

 

"Sonic boom!" Blues sliced through the the air, sending out three sonic waves from different directions before using his special technique.

"Delta ray!" Blues increased his speed, slicing his enemy from three sides before returning to his original position.

"Ha...ha..." [However, why was the enemy laughing?] "As expected... from you..."

"A fake?!" Blues exclaimed and Enzan immediately logged Bluess out. Enzan cursed, running to the main server.

 

* * *

 

**That's a human trait... Isn't it?**

 

"Hmph." Shadowman raised an eyebrow towards the Netnavi. "You are aware what will happen if you miss, right?"

"Yes." The blue Netnavi replied, charging the equipped Ultimate Buster. The mercenary could not understand the Navi's reaction. 'Is this obedience or trust? Is he testing me?'

'Is this all a game to him?' Shadowman realized as the navi kept charging. Those emerald eyes reminded him of someone. No. He wasn't a client. That Navi was...

    

 

> _"You are...?" Face obscured, a Navi donning blue beddings for a cloak inquired as it walked towards the next path._
> 
> _"You don't have to know." Shadowman followed the extremely out-of-place Navi. "Are you lost, child?"_
> 
> _"Maybe..." It replied. [None of the virus were attacking it for some odd reason.] "Do you know where I am?"_
> 
> _"Undernet 5. (The Navi halted in its tracks) What are you looking for?" Shadowman asked, curious of its origins._
> 
> _"I need to find two Navis to get my A license." The Navi finally turned to face him. Emerald eyes glowed underneath the dark, the entire being emanated a soft glow._ _Shadowman stared at the outstretched mint-colored glove more than the identity of its targets, muttering. "I recall seeing one of them hide in KotoSquare."_
> 
> _"Oh!" It withdrew its arm back inside the blanket, giving him a smile. "Thank you."_
> 
> _"Where is your operator and why are you wearing a blanket?" Shadowman watched the Navi walk pass him, heading back to the entrance of the Undernet. He's also tempted to ask why it's glowing like a defected holy panel, but that would be rude._
> 
> _"My operator is asleep and it's really cold in the Undernet." It commented as it pulled the blanket over its head. "If you excuse me, I need to get that license."_
> 
> _"..." Shadowman watched the Navi exit the area before he continued his investigations regarding X._

 

"Little boy..." Shadowman commented, landing on the ground. Yes. The lost wandering Navi he met the other week. This Navi had the same eyes and voice, but not the same attire. Everything about this Navi matched the specifications it had except visual and physical attributes. The one he met last week was a ghost, an entity composed of a handful of bits and no combat abilities. 'He isn't a threat then.'

"?" Just as expected, the child also lowered his weapon in a confused state. But before Shadowman spoke out to ask if this child knew X, someone appeared behind him.

"Rockman! Fire!" Blues ordered as he held Shadowman from behind.

"Ugh?!" Startled, Shadowman struggled to remove the Navi from his being.

"B-but..." The Navi named Rockman hesitated and Blues cried out. "Do you wish that Electopia have the same fate as Yumland?!"

"How persistent, to kill my simulacrum ahead of time." Shadowman prepared to create copies of himself to end the Official Netnavi's life- He changed targets, allowing his pupils to shield him from the strong attack. While smoke covered his form, Shadowman broke free from Blues' grip, kicking him to the side.

"U-urgh..." Blues struggled to stand and Shadowman threw a large ninja star at the offender.

 

*Ding!

 

"I won't let you hurt Blues!" Rockman winced as he deflected the Ninja star away from the crimson Navi. Blues managed to go on all-fours, ordering the civilian Navi. "Get out... You won't be able to handle him."

"You're right! I can't but I'll stall him until you recover." Rockman held the flame sword with both hands, panting. "We... We can't let him destroy the Mother Comp."

"You idiot." Blues received full energy and even a number of healing chips.

"In the end, it's just you and me." Shadowman shook his head, "I've changed my mind. I'll take the memory from your deleted remnants before destroying this pitiful server."

 

"Netto-kun!" Rockman requested and a voice soon followed, "Battle operation set!"

"Execute!" Rockman's sword vanished, his entire form altering to a crimson hue. His buster is replaced into a gigantic fist, immediately transforming into a machine gun and aiming it at the ninja. "Heatguts!"

"Interesting." Shadowman noted, recalling a certain program guarded by Yumland that enables its users to shift into a different element. 'However, that won't help you!'

"Too easy." Shadowman remarked, dodging the rapid fire from the Navi, rushing from behind to-

"As if!" Rockman literally turned and slid pass his feet, standing up and punching him squarely at the back.

"Ack!" Shadowman retreated, receiving large damage. "I let my guard down."

"Ah-!" Rockman knelt down, covering his mouth with his free hand as he lowered his enormous fist. For some reason, tears were falling down the Navi's face.

 

*******************************

 

"You don't have to push yourself." Blues finally stood up, rushing to go in front of Rockman. "I got this."

"???" Even as the scientists are preparing a minor shutdown to trap and erase the intruder, Shadowman received a soft unfamiliar tune. To the trained ear, the sound was growing louder. It was unnatural.

 

~~**Static** ~~

 

"Rockman! Plug out!" Netto panicked but the Navi couldn't due to the humans tinkering the system.

"Shut it Hikari. Blues won't let your navi die." Enzan inserted a series of battlechips in his PET. "Sword. Wide sword. Long Sword. Slotted in!"

"Program Advance: Life sword!" Blues rushed forward and Shadowman countered the attack with his muramasa.

"To use it on such a weak opponent..." Shadowman really needs to focus on the primary mission at hand. However...

 

**It's getting louder.**

 

A soft buzz, morphing into a series of incomprehensible noise. Shadowman pushed Blues back to his place, changing target. This Navi called Rockman. He's suffering with a glitch. A glitch that he sensed to be most disadvantageous to his owner's well-being. How he knew of this, Shadowman couldn't say. He simply had to stop the sound.

"Let me end your misery!" Shadowman used a kawarimi when Blues managed to hit him, having his copies attack the albino as he proceeded with the injured Navi. The data Rockman obtained during his time within the Mother Comp is harmful to the Navi's core program. Strange how Rockman opted to ignore the errors. Now he'll either die a gruesome death or lie wriggling in pain.

"..." The Netnavi doesn't even raise his defenses as he came, looking up with those pitiful-?

**"I can't die!"**

"?" For that split nanosecond, Shadowman saw restrained malice. Teeth bared out, Rockman's inner emotions flared in his eyes. The assassin sees conflict and nil. Something in nothing. He sees a trapped human soul right under him, struggling to contain foreign unconverted info. 'A threat.'

"Rockman!" A number of voices cried out the Navi's name.

"Unfortunate." Shadowman offered instead. Just this once, he won't mind using his legendary blade onto this determined Navi.

"No-!" Blues cursed, being blocked by the other three copies of his target.

"Ahh!" Rockman screamed, barely dodging as he held the blade inching closer to his Navi crest. Rockman lost his right arm, pixels rushing out and HP decreasing rapidly. He hears the operator scream, but that was not his concern.

'Why struggle when you're in pain?' Shadowman twists (injuring Rockman's left hand) and turns, ready to delete the Navi and end his misery.

 

" **Target acquired. Lock on.** "

 

"?!" Shadowman immediately lets go of his Muramasa, barely dodging immediate termination when a sniper shot aimed for his chest. His left lower arm is shot, but the ninja is aware who the perpetrator is.

"Searchman." Of all the Navis in the Net, it had to be the green sniper.

"Grk!" Rockman, even when he's stabbed to the ground and bleeding profusely, managed to perform an informal sweep kick. Shadowman activated his air boots, not expecting the swordsman to join the gang up.

"Sonic boom!" Blues managed to slice the crimson scarf and injure the back, but Shadowman pulled out a kunai to deflect the following attacks.

"What must I do now, Miyabi?" Shadowman could self-destruct, but the scientists have a back-up data which is proved pointless.

"Do what must be done." His operator replied, walking out of a building. "We've already collected the data, after all. I'll be heading to Kotobuki for the fee."

"Understood." Shadowman evaded yet another sniper shot, looking back at the pained Navi. "I'll take you with me."

 

_One minute_

 

"Everyone! Plug out! We already have a back-up on the server!" Someone announced and of course the assassin knew this. However, the Mother comp will be fully operational after a month and that's the time Gospel required them to give. One minute is enough to delete the Navi and gather information regarding the mysterious X. Whether it be a child or a female, Shadowman will fulfill his mission.

"If we do that then we're playing into Gospel's hands." Enzan snapped back. A scientist shouted. "Stop playing the hero! Do you think we want this to happen? No! But if you keep doing this, the longer the server will take in restoring itself! You don't have to do this! You're just a kid!"

"Damn it." Blues cursed as he clashed against Shadowman once more.

"Do you plan on dying?" Shadowman parried the swordsman using his other Muramasa blade, starting to find this Netnavi meddlesome.

"I could say the same to you." Blues smirked and Shadowman disliked his opponent's misplaced confidence.

"Bug... style..." The sound of static (covered with the sound of data cascading from their surrounding) stopped with Rockman's declaration. Shadowman and Blues both evaded the enormous buster shot.

 

**We all crash and burn in the end...**

 

"I see." Shadowman feels he has a grasp on the navi's capabilities. It's converting the unknown potentially dangerous information into usable data. 'You're still going to die though.'

"Searchman. If you can hear me, aim for the crest!" Blues readied for his final move once more. "Rockman. Help me restrict his movement."

"Hn." Rockman agreed with blank eyes, raising his buster as multiple errors cover his form. He's unstable, unwilling to succumb to death. For what reason, Shadowman didn't care. He did care about the time.

 

_Ten seconds._

 

'I never thought I'd be ganged up by three custom Navis.' Shadowman parried the buster shots, throwing kunais and ninja stars at the primary threat. He can't reach Searchman, but he was never the target. The target here is Rockman.EXE. 'Just one more hit!'

"..." Instead of being surprised, Rockman looked up at the assassin ready to let out a burst of flames. Rockman moved too slow, but a barrier formed around him as if sensing the urgency. Shadowman cursed, missing his chance and now going to suffer the consequence of lowering his guard.

"Delta Ray Edge!" Blues screamed, slicing him in all sides which Shadowman still managed to dodge. He's feared in the Undernet for a reason! While Blues did his special technique, Netto inserted a zap ring chip and have Rockman stun the Navi.

"!!!" If he had not underestimated Rockman, maybe Shadowman would have noticed the simple chip before getting stunned. Maybe he would have destroyed the entire server had it not been with the aide of that meddlesome sniper.

 

"Miyabi... Forgive me.."

 

* * *

 

 

"How is your Navi, Hikari?" Enzan may be cold and distant to his whole age group, but even he knows how unpleasant an operator would be when your parent confiscates your PET a week before the N1 Grand Prix.

"He's resting." Netto rubbed his right shoulder, wincing. Enzan knitted his brows, "You need exercise."

"Shut up. I don't need your pity." Netto walked away, looking back at Enzan. "And **this** doesn't mean you won't face Rockman and me! We are not disqualifying ourselves no matter what!"

"What have I done to the brat?" Enzan wants to know. He's had too much chips on his plate. He knows he's insulted the bandana-wearer but it was because he was acting like an idiot in the dining room. "How childish."

 

"Enzan-sama. Do you suppose the terrorists would participate in the N1 Grand Prix?" Blues asked, resting in the PET with his eyes closed. (Not obvious with the visors.)

"One of them most definitely will." Enzan walked out of the building, opening the door to his private driver. He closed the door, telling his driver to return to IPC.

"And Blues?" Sitting down, Enzan placed the PET on the seat.

"Yes Enzan-sama?" Blues responded accordingly.

"Send a Thank you message to Raika." Enzan heaved. Blues looked away, "Understood."

"You don't have to stay long." Enzan opened one eye as he looked as his disgruntled Navi. Searchman would most likely converse with Blues regarding the mishap.

"I don't plan to." Blues vanished. Enzan looked at the car's roof, activating his fifteen-minute alarm in his PET before falling back to sleep.

 

* * *

 

[...]

 

"?!" Rockman woke up, battered in illusionary pain. Everything hurts. 'Where am I?'

 

**[Is anyone there?]**

 

"..." The Navi struggles to get out. Something is dripping from him or was it above him? He's wet. He can't see anything. He can't hear anything. The liquid stung.  ~~Saito~~ Rockman didn't know if he was crying or screaming for help.

 

**[Help me! Let me out! I'm sorry! Don't leave me here!]**

 

All for sure, no one responded to his cries. _Just like every other time._  He's alone. He doesn't want to be alone. 'Let me out. Come save me please...'

  

**[Netto-kun! Roll-chan! Gutsman?! Glyde? Anyone...?]**

 

The Navi's hand pressed onto a glass. Trapped. The liquid is filling his prison. Rockman continued banging from his container, injuring himself in the process.

 

**[No one will save me. I'm all alone..]**

 

He finally remembers what this is. His _father_ is purifying him from something ~~~~~~but why doesn't he understand that I'm the contaminant?~~  The Navi sat down on his cell, covering his mouth.

 

**[...]**

 

~~Saito closes his eyes, unwilling to break into fragments.~~

  
~~~~

[ERROR]

 

For an hour, the PC flashed repeatedly sent this sign but no one was there to check. Yuuichirou was inside an important meeting to notice.

"..." The program watching Rockman's condition knew of the process and thought the Navi was simply not used to the activity.

"This is the fifteenth time. Rockman." The green program said cheerfully, moving away from the Netnavi to perform its primary duty. It files the report as obtaining a slight mishap in data facilitation from the PC to the Netnavi.

**Author's Note:**

> Rockman is willing to break for Netto to mend.


End file.
